The Crows of Shibuya
by Agwen
Summary: Naru receives a letter with a peculiar request, but he could not have predicted that it would show his impending death. Mai and the others are in for a long haul to save Naru from a possible tragedy. [Mostly T, later M for dark themes.] ARC 2: The Return of Taniyama Mai
1. Prologue

**Major spoilers for Naru's real identity.**

Caution:  
(1) The story contains (mentions of) dark themes. I also made the decision to not "spoil" the story by specifically mentioning warnings in advance. So please use your own judgment when reading this fanfiction.  
(2) The Crows of Shibuya is foremost a mystery, but there will be some mild romance. The pairings are undisclosed and may range from F/M, M/M to F/F. Rest assured, there will be no relationships between adult and underage characters.

* * *

 **Tokyo, 201X**

 _Caw! Caw!_

His head rested against the back of his office chair when he heard the calls and rustles outside the blinded window. Heavy eyelids opened, trying to get used to the dim light in the room. Then he sighed as he recalled what happened just earlier: a headache had set in earlier on the day. Reading from the computer screen quickly turned out to be a pain-inducing task. After closing the blinds of his room, he had reclined the chair into a horizontal position. Judging by the glass of water on his desk someone came in to check on him while he was asleep. He had no idea how much time had passed since he laid down.

The headache had passed, but his eyes were still weary.

Someone knocked on the door before he could close his eyes again. He slowly moved his gaze to the source of the sound. The door opened at that very moment. His eyes narrowed when bright light streamed into the dimmed room. Mai's head poked out of the gap. She seemed worried.

"Feeling any better?"

He closed his eyes for a moment.

"…Yes."

Mai let out a sigh of relief and said: "Are you hungry? It's time for dinner."

He looked at the clock on the wall. Almost six o'clock.

"Not yet."

She scrunched her face.

"Well, I am. So I'll go get dinner with Yasuhara-san if you don't mind..." After a pause she added: "But if you come together we can save a table for four."

He sighed a little. In hindsight, he shouldn't have made them wait so long for him.

"Oh. By the way, a letter came in for you while you were asleep. ...It's on the front desk."

He nodded and stood up from his chair.

"Don't wait for me. I'll close the office."

Mai made a sound of affirmation and closed the door. He took a gulp from the glass of water and tidied up his desk.

By the time he closed the door of his room behind him, Yasuhara and Mai had already vanished.

He took a pair of gloves from his coat, walked over to the desk and glanced at the envelope. After putting on the gloves, he took the envelope and opened it. A frown appeared on his face as he read the letter. It was a waste of time. He placed the letter back into the envelope and fed it to the paper shredder.

He locked the office after putting on his coat and walked out of the corridor. Cold. He wanted to reach the restaurant as soon as possible and have a nice warm meal.

 _But if you come together we can save a table for four._

He paused near the escalator. Did she see _him_? He turned on his heels and headed to the elevator.

Last night's conversation still bothered him. Maybe he shouldn't have told him, he thought as he pushed the button inside the elevator. _It doesn't even matter anymore, so why did I tell him...?_

He reached the top floor, stepped out, and adjusted his scarf.

As soon as Oliver Davis opened the door to the rooftop a wave of chilly air hit him. The cold breeze was uninviting, but even so he stepped forward.

The contrasting orange sunlight glimmered weakly against the horizon. Massive crows had gathered on the safety railings. They cawed instantly at his presence. Then the crows flapped their wings and proceeded to scatter into different parts of the neighbourhood. Blue-sheened black feathers flew unnervingly close past his eyes.

Instead of paying any further attention to the urban pests, Noll searched for him with his eyes. Usually they met on the roof of the building. If it were another moment he would expect him to lean against the railing to look at the descending sun, most likely wondering what to eat in a few minutes, dwelling over some existential crisis, or reminiscing over a past lover. Noll had seen oceans of such thoughts at various intervals _if_ his mind allowed him. Even now, surprisingly, the door was open. As if he had stopped caring. But he didn't want to extract the precise thought currently haunting his mind. All he could see was a raging storm out there.

Somewhere.

Now, where is _he_?

Because right now Noll wanted to go back inside at once.

Cold.

He walked to the other side of the roof. Nothing. His eyes scanned the taller buildings surrounding the roof as he returned to the door. Other offices. People working. People leaving. Some were living a life, but most lived to work. Much like he did. But he still liked to think he had a semblance of life - unlike what Mai claimed him to be.

A workaholic.

Before he knew it, his thoughts had strayed.

"I'm here."

A familiar voice brought him back to the present. It was almost like a whisper. Barely intelligible above the noise of crowds roaming the busier streets of Shibuya.

Noll looked around and saw a young man sitting against one of the rooftop's enclosures with his back against him. His legs were sprawled on the floor. Dark grey jeans. They blended in with the drabness of the roof. Noll stepped in front of him and gazed down. His head hung. There was no attempt at eye contact. A long, tawny coat hung loosely over his navy blue dress shirt. Despite the cold he had not even bothered buttoning up his coat.

Just looking at the man before him made him shiver.

"Let's go," Noll said.

He waited for the other to move or speak. Instead, the man opened a pack of cigarettes and pulled a lighter from his coat's breastpocket. His hand shook the pack a little, leaving him to grab a protruding cigarette with his lips. He lit the cigarette, still not looking back at Noll. _Why call him out only to be ignored again?_ Noll didn't want to waste any more time and proceeded to go back into the building. It was cold.

Then he heard his voice again.

"Why did you tell me?"

Noll stopped walking.

This time he didn't bother turning around. He had enough of that pathetic sight. It reminded him of a foregone past. Making that connection just made his insides squirm.

"Why..." Noll repeated to himself. "I thought you would have wanted to know."

He heard him breathe out suddenly. Noll imagined him looking at the smoke ascending against the darkening sky and slowly receding from his view.

"That I should have died ages ago? God, no. You've gone mad."

His voice sounded exasperated, but Noll didn't let it get to him.

"Back then," Noll paused. "You did the same to me. I'm merely returning a favour."

"A favour? Do you hate me?"

Noll could only tighten the grip in his hands.

"I didn't want to know either."

There. He said it. Unlike the other, he didn't know what was going to come for him. If it was going to happen in the same way. _If_ it was going to happen at all. It had been on the back of his mind the whole time in the past years and he'd been trying to ignore it.

Death is a certainty, but he preferred not knowing when or how it would happen.

"Damn it," The man breathed out. "...I was fifteen, scared out of my mind. You know that! I wasn't thinking. I just-"

He didn't continue. Only a thought slipped into his mind. _We were always together._

Noll let out a deep sigh and spoke.

"Your death was prevented. Be a little more grateful to the one who wrote that letter."

Silence.

Then he heard a scuffle of feet.

"Grateful? Are you out of your mind? Maybe it was better if I -"

He left the sentence unfinished again.

Somewhat concerned, Noll turned around and watched him stand there. The young man looked down at the lighter in his hand. The other hand by his hip held the cigarette. He looked shocked. A little scared.

"Unlike you I don't try to hold onto those predictions. The future is in a constant flux, ever-changing..."

How many times had he repeated it to himself? He didn't know anymore.

Noll continued.

"You have to move on, Gene."

Eugene Davis looked up. His dark eyes met Noll's expectant gaze.

"It's a thing of the past."

Last night's confession had been a spur of the moment. It was simply a burst of yet another hidden fragment between the two. Noll knew that withholding that crucial detail from him - his own twin brother - would cause a rift between them. But Noll had expected him to be angry - infuriated even, but nothing like this. There was a storm of jumbled thoughts on the other side, but it wasn't caused by resentment. He tried to dig deeper as far as Gene would let him, but he found nothing - just emptiness.

Noll watched him put the cigarette back on his lips, and frowned. _Speaking of early deaths..._

Gene closed his eyes momentarily as he inhaled. Some of the glowing ash scattered in a sudden wind. Gene lowered the cigarette again as he walked up to Noll with a pensive expression. He stood close enough to feel each other's breaths on their faces. A hint of smoke. Gene's face turned calm and steady, and a spark returned to his eyes.

"Right. Does it even matter anymore?" He said with a little smirk.

Noll paused before responding. He was unsure what to make of his twin's quick recovery.

"No, it doesn't," he finally replied.

The storm dissipated. The surface calmed until it concluded with a few words:

 _Because it never happened._

The smirk settled into a smile. Then Gene turned around and nonchalantly waved a hand.

"Go back inside, Noll. I know you're cold. I need to finish this first."

Then the 'door' closed again. Just for how long? He didn't understand him anymore.

Noll watched as Gene put the lighter back in the pocket of his coat and walked over to the railing. Then he sighed and reached for the door handle. Suddenly he remembered Mai's words as he opened the door. He looked over his shoulder to see Gene leaning against the railing with his back to him.

"Yasuhara-san and Mai are at the usual place. I'll go ahead of you," he said.

There was no response.

Noll closed the door.


	2. Point of No Return

**Chapter 1: Point of No Return**

 **Tokyo, March 2006**

 _"Shall we go to the library?"_

 _It had been a long time since Mai went to the local library, so she invited her friends to come along with her. However, one of them had other plans. Shiozaki Satomi was searching for a part-time job to support her living and excused herself. She parted ways with them after they exited the social service centre building._

 _The library was quiet. It smelled of old books and magazines. Some university students had gathered around a table and studied in silence. The literature section was close to the entrance on the first floor._

 _Taniyama Mai and Ezawa Haruka strode down the aisles of the young adult section._

 _Mai didn't have a particular book she was looking for. Nor did she have a favourite genre. She simply looked for any titles that sparked her interest and read the summary. Mai glanced over multiple rows of books, but there was only one book spine that caught her attention. Mai had seen it before. She pulled it out of the row and looked at the cover. It was in a reasonable condition despite its old age._

 _Her mother used to have this on her bookshelf._

 _"I'll read this one."_

 _She said that without thinking._

 _Her friend scurried over and glanced at the book._

 _"This is...?"_

 _"It's a book about a girl who jumps back into time."_

 _Mai tried to smile, but only an awkward expression surfaced. However, her friend didn't notice; Haruka kept staring at the book._

 _"If you could go back in time, would you save your only family?" she asked._

 _"Huh?"_

 _It was so sudden. Mai didn't expect her to blurt out such a question._

 _Her friend looked up at her._

 _"Would you do it?" Haruka asked with a serious face._

 _Mai stared down at her feet. She had one answer, but knew it was completely impossible._

 _"I would."_

Those words were etched in her mind after Mai watched the girl walk away from her. They had visited the library a few weeks ago. Mai had borrowed the book from the library, because she couldn't bear to go through her mother's possessions to find it. Her death was still fresh in her mind. The last time Mai went through her things she had cried all night.

Mai stood in front of the social service centre building. Today was their last so-called "group therapy" session. Mai made friends with some girls in the group who shared the unfortunate fate of being orphans. She did not know if it helped, and she certainly did not know how long those friendships would last - but at least she knew in her heart that she was not the only one who felt like this.

Lonely.

Her chest tightened. She wanted to meet them again. Even if it was just one of them.

She puffed her cheeks and raced ahead.

"Haruka-san!"

Mai turned around the corner and found the girl with black hair in a ponytail next to a mailbox. At that moment her hand pushed an envelope into a slot - _international mail_. Haruka looked at her and smiled. Had she been waiting for her to come?

"Remember this."

Mai breathed in and out. White breaths formed in the cold air.

"Why?"

"That's a secret."

Haruka made a sad smile and turned around.

"Goodbye, Mai-san. Let's meet again one day."

Mai stared after her until she faded in the crowds of the street. Then she put her hands in the pockets of her jacket and searched for her gloves. She didn't know what to make of that girl in the end. Haruka was a little odd, but not a bad girl. After gazing at the dark sky above her for a moment, she looked down again to put her gloves on her hands.

Then Mai turned around, sniffing her cold nose a little.

Now it was time. Time to live on her own.

* * *

 **Cambridge, April 2006**

The smell of rain lingered in the dark hallway.

Eugene Davis took his shoes off and kicked them one by one into a corner near the front door. If it were another day he would be yelled at for leaving things all over the place, but today was not that day. Gene slicked his wet hair from his face. He heaved his shoulders, then looked up at the ceiling as he tried to calm down.

His eyes closed and his ears listened for any sounds inside the house, tuning out the rain outside the front door. The house was quiet. Behind him Martin and Lin muttered quietly to each other in the kitchen. Lin calmly informed his father about what happened during the case - specifically about what had happened to his brother to cause him to return in a such a dire state. He was only there to return the twin brothers safely to their home and inform their parents.

Gene dropped his head. He had hoped it would not happen again, because he never knew what to do in these kind of situations. He tightened the grip in his hands, and relaxed it again. Breathe in, breathe out. There was no point in getting frustrated. Gene opened his eyes again. There was a drenched coat on the floor. He picked it up and put it on the coat rack. He wasn't sure whether it belonged to himself or his brother.

Well, not that it mattered anyway.

He noticed an umbrella on the floor. Lin had dropped it while carrying his twin into the house several minutes ago. Gene had not bothered coming out of the hallway since then. He sat down on the staircase and waited with the umbrella in his hand. Luella was currently taking care of Noll in his bedroom. There wasn't much he could do right now, so he slowly folded the umbrella in a daze. The cold moisture dripped from his hands and seeped into his jeans.

The door of the kitchen opened.

A surprised expression came over Lin's face when he saw him on the staircase.

Gene handed him the umbrella.

"Good luck."

"Thank you," Lin said.

He gave a wry smile. "Will you be okay?

The man said: "Don't worry. We'll take care of the aftermath."

Gene nodded.

Lin exited the home with an umbrella in hand and closed the door behind him. Outside a car engine started. Its noise mixed in with the heavy rain until it disappeared.

Gene scanned the small table next to the staircase. An envelope with red-blue striped borders caught his attention. He stood up and took it in his hands. It was addressed to his brother, but the country of origin was rather unusual. Gene looked up to the second floor, then sighed; Luella had not come down yet.

Gene walked to the kitchen, but didn't find anyone there.

He found Martin in the living room. There was a deep frown on his father's face. His blue eyes intensely gazed at the half-empty cup of tea in front of him.

"Do you think they'll be okay?"

Martin looked up and blinked.

"...Madoka and the others, you mean?"

He nodded.

"I'm sure they will," he said. "But I am more worried about your brother. Did Noll show..." He paused. "Did he tell you anything?"

Gene shook his head.

"No. He told... Madoka, who told Lin."

He was sure Madoka told the others after they left the premises. To tell the truth, he felt a little left out. Every time something like this happened, Noll would block the channel to prevent him from seeing anything. Depending on the subject he would tell Gene about it or not. Sometimes it didn't happen. Like just now. Even worse, nobody informed Gene. It drove him mad not to know. He wanted to know what his brother had experienced. It killed him that Noll would have to live through this alone without him knowing.

As if he could read his expression, Martin said: "Don't bother him about it."

His father's voice was unusually thin.

Gene was unable to restrain a scowl which formed on his face.

"...Does that mean he has to suffer alone?"

Martin shook his head and took the cup in his hand.

"Be there for him. Just... don't push him. Please."

Gene made a disgruntled voice, but nodded.

"Thank you," Martin said. "I understand it's difficult for you too."

At that moment they heard footsteps from the staircase. Their gazes simultaneously moved to the door which opened. Luella didn't say anything when she returned to the living room. Her eyes looked weary. She had a dry towel in her hands.

"Dear, how is he?" Martin asked. He put the empty cup back in the saucer.

Luella shook her head. "Still in pain."

She walked up to Gene, put the towel over his head, and rubbed his wet hair.

"Can I go see him?"

His voice was small.

"Of course you can. He's still awake."

Gene looked down from her somewhat pained smile.

"I hate this."

"I know," she said.

Luella's hands left his head. She placed her hands on his upper arms and pulled him into a hug. Gene buried half his face against her shoulder. The room went quiet.

* * *

Eugene knocked on the bedroom door and paused before opening it. The blinds of the window were closed. The light from the lantern poles outside slipped through the gaps and faintly lit the desk near the window. He let his eyes wander into the rest of the room and stopped his gaze at the bed.

"Noll?"

The sheets stirred a little, but there was no reply. Gene waved an envelope in his hand.

"This letter arrived while we were away."

(... _Put it on the table_.)

The voice through the line sounded tired and weak. That was the first time he spoke with him through the connection between them ever since they left the case.

"Hm."

Eugene closed the door behind him and walked over to Noll's desk. He placed the envelope on the table, then he looked back at his brother.

"... Can I sleep here?"

Gene waited; it took long for him to reply.

( _Yeah_.)

He no longer had to change as he had already changed into pyjamas before entering the room. Gene moved to the bed and looked at his brother's face. Black hair fell limply against his closed eyelids. His breathing was soft, but shaky. Gene crawled beside him on the bed and entered the sheets. Noll stiffened a little when he wrapped an arm over his waist, but relaxed within a few seconds.

When they were still living with their biological parents the twins would sleep together in one bed; the family had been too poor to afford two beds. In the orphanage they did have their own beds, but it took the twins a very long time to sleep independently from each other. The caretakers would sometimes separate them at night by force, but one of them would crawl back into the other's bed anyway. Noll started to get used to it after a short while, but Gene himself took over a half year to get used to sleeping alone.

Of course, by the time the Davises adopted them, it was no longer an issue. The twins had been given the choice of having separate beds in the same room like in the orphanage, but both of them agreed that it was better to give each other more space. So the times they slept together in the same bed lessened over time. When they became teenagers it became awkward to 'sleep together'. Not to mention that the one person-sized bed started to feel a bit cramped as they aged.

Still, it was comforting to Gene. It was reassuring in some way. Noll appeared to feel the same way, because he never complained about it. It was a force of habit. Well, they shared a womb at one point in the first place, so it seemed natural rather than just a habit.

Noll's breathing was still shaky.

"You're not okay, are you?"

His twin did not respond.

"Tell me."

Gene didn't feel like he should be protected... as the older brother he should be the one to protect Noll... Or at the very least suffer together. Noll kept things to himself, but Gene was more of the type to scream out his emotions through the line. He would feel bad about it afterwards to Noll, but it felt so good to let it all out.

"I don't want to think about it..." Noll finally said.

"I'm sorry." Gene breathed. "I'll talk about something else."

"Go on."

He closed his eyes.

"I'm thinking of going to Japan this year during summer holidays. For three weeks, or maybe a month." Gene said, "Do you want to come with me?"

"...I'm not interested."

He smirked.

"Hm, thought so. I'll go alone then."

A long time passed until Noll spoke again. In the meanwhile, his breathing steadied and returned to normal. Gene nearly dozed off when he heard his voice.

"Why did you bring that up all of sudden?"

Noll's voice had returned to his normal volume.

"Well, what do you think?"

"The letter," Noll correctly guessed. "A request?"

"No, I don't think so. It was sent to our home."

Letters requesting missing person searches were usually directed to SPR's main office in London.

"Your paper was translated into Japanese, right? Maybe it's fan mail."

That was doubtful. Those were also directed to the main office.

Noll sighed.

"Go get it."

Gene shuffled off the bed and turned on the lamp on the desk.

"Alright, I'll show you then."

He watched his brother sit up slowly, but he did it with great difficulty. He hunched over and breathed hard after the attempt. After his psychometric vision just earlier today, Noll had suddenly lost the ability to move his legs. That's why Lin had to carry him into the house.

"Does it still hurt?"

"…No," Noll said, looking up at him with a wry smile. "The painkillers are kicking in."

Gene sighed a little and stared at the envelope in his hand. He read out loud.

"To: Oliver E.C. Davis."

Then he flipped to the back of the envelope. "There's no return address."

Only the stamp and postmark indicated its country of origin.

Gene continued: "What if it's hate mail? There's been a lot of that too."

"...Hn, let me see."

Noll reached out, but Gene held the envelope a little higher. He frowned.

"You sure about that?"

Noll sighed. "It's just an envelope. A quick feel will suffice."

Gene held out the envelope.

"I'm not going to be held responsible for this."

His brother touched the tip of the envelope, and pulled back immediately. Usually it meant that strong emotions are attached to the item. An instant synchronisation with a vision would occur if the emotions were very strong. But Noll was able to pull away from it for some reason. Probably because the envelope had a 'light fingerprint' from its previous owner.

Going by Noll's face it didn't appear to be pleasant or unpleasant. His face was completely blank.

"Well?"

Noll frowned. It seemed like he was able to pick up a few things.

"...A girl sent this. She's around our age."

Gene had to let the sentences sink in for a few seconds.

"A GIRL?!"

"Don't yell." Noll grimaced.

"Wow. We totally need to open this," Gene said in excitement. "I can't believe the idiot scientist got a love letter!"

His brother sighed.

"It's not a love letter..."

Gene laughed a little.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll see about that."

"Her emotions were not directed to me," he insisted.

Gene looked up quizzically.

"Who then?"

"Another girl."

"Oh."

He raised an eyebrow and showed an amused smile.

"So, Doctor Davis... When did you start your career in love counselling?"

His twin rolled his eyes.

"There's no romantic inclination if you were hoping for that."

"...I wasn't hoping for anything. It just caught my interest. That's all."

"Sure you did."

Gene looked down at the envelope.

"Shall I open it?"

Noll nodded. "Go ahead."

He opened the envelope and pulled the letter out.

"Then I'll have you read it first."

He showed the writing to his brother first.

"It's upside down."

Gene turned the letter clockwise, but a deep frown crossed his brother's face.

"...It's addressed to you, Gene."

"What?"

Gene turned the letter in his hand and read:

 _Dear Eugene Davis,_

 _Don't go alone._

 _Haruka Tooyama_

It was a short and simple letter, written in English.

"Uh... I don't understand this," Gene said. "Why did she write my name?"

"Give me the envelope again. I need a closer look."

He shook his head.

"Noll, I think you did enough for today..."

"It's not a bad vision."

"Still, what if you pass out?" Gene said as he put the letter on the desk and went back with the envelope.

His brother shrugged.

"Even better. I had trouble trying to sleep."

Gene sighed, wondering if his brother was a masochist.

"Alright," he said and sat down next to him on the bed. "But take me with you, okay? Or else I'll tell Martin and Luella."

His twin sighed. "Fine."

As Gene pressed their foreheads together, Noll focused on the envelope. They used this particular trick to shorten the distance of the twin channel, and experience the vision together. It had no other use than to shorten the delay Gene had. To his relief Noll instantly connected to the vision without trouble, soaking up a particular memory latched onto the envelope. It resulted in a short, but vivid scene from a city he had never seen before.

 _It is late in the evening... The sound of cars... A very urbanized city... Tokyo? Yes, Tokyo. She is walking with the envelope in hand, wondering whether to post the envelope or not. She arrives at the red mailbox in front of her... and hesitates for about half a minute. The moment she posts the letter, everything will change._

 _Doubt. Compassion. Doubt. Compassion. Doubt._

 _'I want to save her family, but it could vanish in a moment.'_

 _Doubt._

 _She lowers the envelope. 'What should I do when I see your face again?'_

 _She turns around and a girl approaches her from a distance._

 _"Haruka-san!"_

 _It's decided._

 _She pushes the envelope into the slot._

* * *

Noll awoke hours later to his brother sitting on the edge of his bed. Gene had already dressed up. He wore a light blue shirt and black jeans. His head turned and a pleasant smile crossed his face.

"Good afternoon, Noll. How do you feel?"

Noll took a moment to analyse the state of his body.

"My legs still feel numb."

His mouth felt dry.

Gene sighed and rose from the bed.

"Then I'll take your breakfast... err, brunch up here."

In truth he still didn't feel like eating so he made a half-hearted nod. Gene left the bedroom and Noll looked at the clock on the wall. It was slightly past noon. Then his gaze wandered through the rest of his room. From the window until the desk. Save for a few books and a glass of water, the desk was completely empty, and void of any envelope or letter.

Noll sighed. He had been careless yesterday. Noll had synched with an antique watch found in the treasury of the victim. It immediately sent him into a full-blown torture scene between the murderer and her victim. Said torture scene involved the decapitation of certain limbs and appendages. Before he realized what was going on, the murderer appeared to be halfway through her task already. Noll never made it to the actual killing. He was already on his way out then.

For better or worse, the only way to deal with the experience was to rationalize everything and become desensitised to what had happened in the vision. Regrettably, forgetting what happened was not something he could do. He had the disadvantage of having a very good memory.

Gene returned holding a tray with toast and a cup of tea. He set the tray on the night table next to his bed. Noll looked at it for a while and reached out for the cup. He carefully positioned the cup in front of his mouth and sipped. At least the fingers on his right hand still worked. He had to give up on his legs today.

After he wet his lips a little and placed the cup back on the tray, Noll glanced at Gene.

"Where is the letter?"

Gene threw up his hands.

"The letter is off-limits. My gut tells me the letter itself will be particularly draining."

Noll couldn't disagree. He still had to recover from yesterday. So just to be sure, he would have to postpone reading the letter if he still had the desire to 'read' it. He took the toast from the plate and started eating it.

Gene sat down again. He looked at the window.

"What did they mean with 'Don't go alone'? The only thing that comes to mind is my trip to Japan. But that's just impossible."

"Did you tell anyone about it?"

He shook his head.

"No, that's the thing. I haven't even told Madoka whether I take up her suggestion or not."

"But you will go."

Gene nodded.

A Japanese acquaintance of an important benefactor had requested for an exorcism. For some reason he specifically asked for the assistance of Eugene Davis. Madoka thought the trip would be a nice personal experience for Gene himself as well. However, the exorcism would have to wait until summer holidays because of school. Despite that the acquaintance didn't seem to mind waiting.

They received no further details about that case, but since that benefactor was involved it would be wise to accept it in order to guarantee further donations.

"So it must mean something else." Noll said. "Any other trips in the short term?"

"No, not even a school trip," Gene said, and then blinked. "Oh, but probably a date!"

Noll groaned.

"You're not going alone on a school trip... or a date for that matter."

"True," Gene said. "It's obviously about the trip to Japan. The letter is sent by a Japanese girl in Japan. And it has to do with a different Japanese girl."

Then he stared straight into Noll's eyes.

"And I don't have anyone who's coming with me."

Noll looked away. He already told him he wasn't interested.

"Then there's the envelope itself... Why was the envelope addressed to you, and not me?"

He shrugged.

"Who knows."

Noll received a blank stare.

"Isn't it obvious? She wants you to become my travel buddy."

Noll groaned.

"No, it's not. Why me, Gene? Anyone could go with you."

Gene pinched the bridge of his nose.

"The girl who sent the letter... Let's call her Haruka as she claims to be. Haruka is friendly with the other girl. ...and she wants to save that girl's family!"

His eyes widened in a sudden realization and stared at Noll who raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I see."

"What?"

"She's playing matchmaker."

Noll put the half-eaten toast back on the plate. He had lost his appetite. All Gene could think of was having girlfriends, going on dates and other terribly unimportant things. Noll wasn't in the mood for this type of talk.

Gene continued, "Hm, it's a pity we didn't see her very well."

Noll was ready to send him away.

"Get out of my room. I have things to do."

His brother raised an eyebrow.

"Will you be okay? Need help with dressing up?"

Noll shook his head.

"Put a change of clothes on my bed. I'll deal with it myself."

"Okay."

It took less than a minute for Gene to pick out a combination of clothes from his closet. His twin was useful for those kind of things.

Gene stared at the clock on the wall.

"Well, I guess it's about time."

Noll frowned.

"Where are you going?"

Gene showed his teeth as he smirked. "Did you forget? I'm going on a date. Or... do you want to come with me?"

Noll gave him a death stare.

"Get out of my room."

* * *

After his recovery came to an end, his life more or less resumed in a similar manner as before. Noll spent his days reading books and doing research. He was content keeping things as they were. There was very little about his life that he would have wanted change.

On the other hand, Gene was very different. He wanted to go out and experience new things, and didn't hesitate to step out of his comfort zone to do so. Even if it meant leaving the country.

Noll had no such desires.

So no, he hadn't touched the letter yet. There was little reason to do so. So why would he even bother?

Even Gene no longer pestered him about his upcoming trip. If anything the letter gave his fiercely independent streak even more resolve to go forward with the trip alone. Both Martin and Luella supported his step towards a more independent life (from his twin). Though they were worried about letting their son go off alone to a country he had never been to before.

To Noll it simply meant that his life would be somewhat quieter while his brother went away.

It seemed like Haruka Tooyama's primary intention had collapsed like a house of cards.

And so the letter in the envelope remained untouched, forgotten between the pages of a school book on Gene's desk.

* * *

 **Author's note**

Thank you for reading the prologue and the first chapter. I hope you enjoy the fic so far!

The main characters of this fic are Oliver and Eugene Davis. For various reasons I decided to use the years of the anime broadcast 2006-2007 as the starting point of the story. In this fic the Davis twins are born in 1990. They are 15 years old in this chapter, and will turn 16 in September.


	3. Unspoken Premonitions

**Chapter 2: Unspoken Premonitions**

 **Cambridge, May 2006**

Several weeks had passed since the letter arrived.

Gene took the phone call from Madoka in the living room and sat down on the sofa. Martin and Luella were out to visit relatives and wouldn't be back until late this evening. Predictably, Noll intended to spend his whole day in his room reading. However, he would have to make his own dinner as Gene planned to spend the afternoon with his girlfriend. He would go meet her after he finished his phone call with Madoka.

Madoka wanted to book a flight ticket for him before the end of the month.

"Won't Noll come with you? I think he might find it interesting too."

Gene grimaced.

"You too, Madoka? Even my parents suggested I persuade that idiot scientist!"

His parents did not insist on having someone chaperone him, but it was obvious that the two were at least a little nervous.

"Parents never like it when a young child goes abroad alone for the first time. It's natural instinct."

He groaned.

"I'm not young anymore!" Gene insisted.

Madoka chuckled.

"I'm fifteen already!"

This time she laughed out loud.

Gene banged his head against the coffee table. This was not a laughing matter!

He complained: "Geez. How can you be so sure that Noll will get an interest in Japan too? I could just go by myself and let him know whether it's worth his time after I come back."

There was a short silence at the other end.

"No, I don't think even you can convince him," she said after a while.

"What?"

"Noll is a stubborn sceptic. He needs to see for himself."

Gene went quiet. Indeed, his brother was incredibly stubborn… he'd just think it would be a waste of time.

"That's true, but... I honestly don't want him with me. He'll just... nag," Gene muttered. "That's all he does these days and it's super annoying. ...I'm sure I get on his nerves too. I think he wanted to poke my eye out for _talking about my girlfriend the whole time_."

He said that last part in a 'Noll voice'.

"Hmhm." Madoka seemed to nod through the phone. "So you're worried that it will ruin your trip?"

Gene slapped the table for good measure.

"Exactly! You don't know what it's like. I need a taste of the twinless life - freedom!"

Ha! It felt good saying that word. Madoka laughed a little.

Gene continued. "I'll even leave my phone at home so he can't call me. Not that he would anyway."

"I see. Very well then," Madoka said, seemingly having understood his intentions. "However, do let your brother know if he's interested in going - not as your brother, but as a researcher of SPR. As I told you before, the Japanese field in parapsychology is very unfamiliar with our approaches. So it's a tough nut to crack - especially as a foreigner. Speaking from experience, the two of you will have less problems as you speak Japanese."

Madoka was the chief of the Fieldwork Laboratory. A little over a year ago she had gathered all Japanese-speaking people from the different departments in SPR's newly established research institute, and taken them under her wing. Lin, Gene and Noll were among them. It became increasingly obvious what her intentions were. Noll had flat out dismissed it at one point, but Madoka was very persistent.

"So you're still thinking of setting up an office there?"

Madoka laughed.

"Only if someone is willing to cooperate with me. Maybe in a few years after you graduate. Perhaps even sooner if Noll wants to. That would be most ideal."

"What about Lin?"

"Lin told me he's not willing unless Noll goes."

Gene huffed.

"Oh really... I sense favouritism."

"You might have an easier time convincing Lin than I do," she said. "I already ask too much of him."

Gene smiled wryly. He highly doubted that he would be able to convince Lin, but it was worth a try.

"Ha, I'll try then," he said as he looked at the clock. There was still some time left before he would go to his date. "Anyway, I already have a good feeling about this trip. I've always wanted to go to Japan."

"You'll enjoy it."

After the phone call ended, Gene walked into his bedroom and plopped down on his bed. He turned his head towards a corner in the room. A guitar case stood inclined against the wall. He had almost forgotten about it. He had asked Martin to buy him a guitar for his birthday, because his friend Craig looked so cool whenever he played guitar. Gene met him at the skateboard rink nearby his house around a year ago.

He walked over and opened the case. Gene took the acoustic guitar out and strummed the strings. He had not learned to play it yet, but he really wanted to.

Gene sighed.

Luella occasionally played piano in the living room, but neither Noll or himself had been particularly interested in playing the instrument. Gene had taken a few lessons with her, but eventually he stopped because he enjoyed playing football and skateboarding much more. He still felt a bit guilty about that, but Luella told him not to mind it.

He put the guitar back in its case, leaving it half-open.

Gene went back to his bed and closed his eyes.

Going alone. It didn't seem so bad, but it scared him at the same time. Maybe his parents were right. He had not been apart from Noll for very long periods. Noll had done a case in the US a few years ago, but he didn't take longer than a week to return to his side. Gene would be gone for a month. Not to mention that the two of them were already familiar with the US, so it didn't have the same excitement and apprehension. Japan was a connection to their previous home language and family roots, but he had never been there. As far as he was concerned, not even their biological parents stepped foot into that country.

To tell the truth, he'd welcome some company on his trip abroad.

Gene rolled over and caught a glimpse of the envelope on his desk.

...And that letter.

Gene sighed and got up from his bed. He moved over to his desk and pulled the envelope from between the pages of his school book. He had been using it as a bookmark - a charm which reminded him of Japan. For some reason he couldn't really throw it away or let go of it. He placed the envelope on the table. Gene turned and looked over to the room on the other side of the hallway. He should let Noll know about Madoka's phone call, even if he knew Noll would brush off her suggestion.

Gene slowly walked over and paused in front of the door.

"You in there? I had a call from Madoka."

* * *

Noll washed the plates and cutlery he had used for dinner. He had not cooked. Luella made him something before she left so he could heat it up in the microwave. He quickly rinsed off the plates and let them dry. It had been a while since he ate alone like this. If Gene wasn't here, he would usually eat with his parents. A few hours ago his brother came into his room to deliver a message from Madoka, and then he left again.

Today was… quiet. It was nice.

Gene had left to go on a dinner date with his girlfriend. Her name was Lizzy or Liz. She was a Korean-English girl at his school and in Gene's words 'the most beautiful girl' he had ever met. He was completely taken by her.

Noll had seen them together by chance in the neighbourhood when he was sent out to buy some groceries for Luella. Gene and Lizzy were sitting in a park with their mutual friends. She seemed like an attention-seeker, proudly showing off that she dated the most popular boy in school. Noll and Gene often encountered those types when both of them were still together in school. Unfortunately, Gene had the idiocy to fall for one of them. It was annoying to constantly hear him talk about her. However, they were equally clingy, so at least Noll had some peace of mind when it came to brotherly hugs and kisses. He very much liked his personal space, so the same annoyance brought him some welcome relief.

Gene was to go to Japan in the summer for a month. That should bring him relief too.

Thinking about it this way, he wasn't as close to Gene as most people would expect from twins. However, twins were often the farthest thing from best friends. He and his brother were very "close" in the sense that they knew each other very well, but they were too dissimilar otherwise. In other words, had they been strangers, they probably wouldn't even have become friends.

Therefore, even after hearing about the things Madoka had said to his brother, he still didn't feel the need to accompany him on his travels. He would hear from Gene if Japan was worth his time. It was a waste of money to send both of them on the trip. He doubted that 'seeing Japan' for himself would change his mind. However, something in Gene's eyes had changed. As if someone had sowed a seed of doubt in his mind. Something bothered him.

After he finished drying the plates, he went upstairs. The door of his brother's room was open. Unconsciously his feet moved into the room. The room was messy as usual. Gene often coaxed him into cleaning the room in his stead. Their mother usually wasn't pleased with that, but it wasn't much of a bother to clean up.

He noticed the half-open guitar case. It wasn't open the last time he looked into the room. Noll wondered why Gene never played the guitar even though he pleaded Martin to buy it for his birthday. It seemed like a huge waste of money. Noll slipped his hand inside the case, touching the strings - as expected, Gene had touched it just recently. It seemed like he was still fond of the guitar.

Then some unexpected emotions burned into him.

 _Guilt. Intense longing. Unfulfilled._

Noll pulled his hand away. He shouldn't be prying. This wasn't what he had come for. His head turned towards the desk. He saw the envelope.

Haruka Tooyama's letter.

Noll walked over and slowly reached his fingers out. He sighed as he held the envelope in his hand.

 _Time to dispel all doubts._

Noll strode back into his room, closed the door behind him and sat down on his bed. He opened the envelope and took a deep breath. He easily synced into the vision as he took the letter out of its container.

Almost too easily.

It felt like someone pulled across the room and threw him outside the window at a frightening speed. Once the movement stopped, a weight pushed down at his shoulders.

He sat down.

A surface under his forearms.

 _There is a blank paper in front of him. A pen in a girl's hand. She is writing. The pencil steadily writes the letters down on the paper. No hesitation in her mind. She has to do this for her friend._

 _"But what if I don't?"_

The vision changed to a different time and place within an instant. He instantly noticed the lack of senses other than sight.

 _She leaves for the last therapy session. There are two girls in her group. She is close with both of them, but she is particularly fixated with one girl. Time to say goodbye. She leaves. The vision branches out. She focuses on the one where the girl didn't follow her, and never posts the envelope._

Then he dove into a series of visions which didn't seem to belong to the girl herself. Noll couldn't feel any of it either, so it felt like he was rushing through a fragmented soundless movie on flash forward without stopping.

In the fragments of this "soundless movie" he sees a boy who looked just like him and Gene. He only seemed a little older. A white van. An old building. Its architecture was unfamiliar to his eyes. However, Lin was there, so it seemed to be a case. Then he notices other people, mostly of Asian descent... They appeared to be Japanese.

This definitely takes place in Japan.

The next thing he knew he was falling into a dark space. He sees the boy performing coin tricks - and realizes the boy is Noll himself. But for whom is he doing this? Then a there is a flash of him on the floor - passed out. Lin's form helps him up. Then he sees himself in the hospital, seemingly recovered.

Sometimes he smiles a little, but for whom?

Then there were many instances of being in an office somewhere. Bringing tea. He enters a room where he sees himself sitting at a desk, studying various maps. He regularly sees himself leave with a somewhat sombre look on his face. Then there's only Lin in the office.

But where is Gene in all of this?

He only saw himself, so where was Gene?

Noll only looked for Gene. He didn't really remember or care to recognize the other faces. They all looked like people he personally wouldn't associate with. But they got along well with the person. The only one who the person didn't seem to get along well with was Noll himself. It strangely reminded him of the quarrels he got into with Gene.

But why was all the focus on him?

Sometimes the visions would branch out into different visions, as if it was playing out all the possible outcomes in a situation. But he wasn't able to tell what the true outcome would be. Noll realized the sequence played out over a long time - possibly in the span of a few years. The more he saw, the more the visions splintered and grew weaker. After a while his sight grew hazy from the splintered visions. He couldn't keep up. His head was starting to ache.

However, one thing was certain. In all of these visions he wore black clothes.

 _Gene, where are you?_ he called out for him unconsciously, but there was no reply.

At one point his sight cleared up. The van stops on a road near a lake. The lake surrounded by mountains and a dam. He sees himself stumble out and stare at the lake for a long time. Then the vision took him to an old building - it quickly changed to a view of the lake again. He sees himself walking towards two divers who had taken something out of their boat, that something is wrapped in yellow sheets - the size of a body.

Then he sees himself with his parents.

His mother was crying. Barely recognizable. As if years had sucked out of her face.

It didn't take long to connect the dots. No, he didn't want to see any of this.

No more, no more.

Noll forced himself out of the entire sequence of visions. His eyes slammed open and he found himself panting against the sheets of his bed. Dizzy. He closed his eyes as he tried to regain his control of his breathing. He wiped the arm of his shirt over his moist eyes.

* * *

Lizzy had taken him to a pizzeria. She told him it was popular with students from the university. Gene could understand why: it was cheap and pretty tasty. He would have to remember to take Noll to this place next time. He wasn't sure whether he would like it, but the place had many vegetarian options. Not to mention it would informally introduce Noll to the student life he would experience after two years.

Noll.

His reaction to Madoka's suggestion seemed lukewarm, but it was… expected. However, Gene couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Now that he thought about it, it would be great to experience new things and places together. It also made him worry that Noll was turning into a recluse - stuck in their parents' home till the day of his death. Going on a trip would make for a nice change of pace. Perhaps it would bring him - both of them some inspiration.

That's why it would have been nice if they experienced university life together - leave their parental home, become roommates - but Noll obviously had different priorities and ambitions. It couldn't be helped, Gene idly thought as he chewed on a pizza crust.

He stared at Lizzy - or Liz as she was usually called by her friends - who was eating her last slice of pizza. Other than the food itself, they had been talking about various topics relating to school and their friends. Liz was part of a popular clique - and he naturally gravitated to that group, but only connected to them on a superficial level. If he recalled correctly it had happened after Noll passed his GCE exams and no longer attended their school. Gene hadn't been sure how to deal with that event. He had his own set of friends, of course, but his twin brother was like an anchor. Once Noll went out of the picture, Gene became even more 'approachable'. It seemed like many people were less restrained if they knew that they wouldn't mistake his brother for him. Noll had the tendency to avoid other students or ignore them completely. It made Gene wonder if his twin brother had acted like a deterrent, whether consciously or unconsciously.

In any case, Liz was the one who reached out to him and 'adopted' him into her circle of friends, so he quickly got attached to her. One thing led to another, and they ended up dating.

She was his first girlfriend.

After leaving the pizzeria, they took a walk in a nearby park. The air was a little cold, but bearable. Gene loosely held her hand as they walked. Her hands were small and her fingers were thin.

It was cute.

Liz leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Are you really going to Japan?"

He nodded.

"Yeah."

"With your brother?"

"He's not interested," Gene said. "Want to come with me?"

He winked. It wasn't a serious question.

Liz laughed.

"Haha. No way, my father wouldn't let me."

They walked into what seemed to be a less public path in the park. Large patches of grass stretched out next to them with trees on each side of the path. The path itself was overgrown with moss.

Suddenly there was a flash of long grey hair - covered by a hairnet, as they turned a corner. An old wrinkly lady stood on the path right before them. She looked out at the grass field with some flowery bushes.

"Oh, excuse us."

He went out of the way, letting go of her hand, but Liz didn't budge. She gave him a quizzical stare.

"Who're you talking to?"

They passed right through the lady.

His facial expression froze. Ah, he screwed up. He totally screwed up. He accidentally greeted a ghost!

"Gene?"

"No- Nothing. Nothing at all."

Liz didn't look convinced by the frown she gave him. She looked away from him with a pout.

He wanted to cry right on that spot.

This had been the second time this month. Dating her was like a dream, but it quickly turned into a nightmare depending on how much he put his psychic ability on display by accident. Is this the reason why she had been quiet around him recently? He was starting to feel awkward around her.

They stopped at a garden. It was unkempt, but still pretty due to the mix of red and yellow flowers.

"The garden is lovely, isn't it?" he said with a forced smile.

"Ah, yes."

Gene sighed, pondering what else to say. His parents would come home in less than two hours. He would have to be back soon. Gene stared at Liz. He often talked about his family, but Liz rarely talked about hers. Oddly enough he had not met her parents yet even after a couple of months of dating. For some reason she wouldn't invite him to her home. He also thought about inviting her to his house, but he decided against it ...It wasn't his parents. They'd welcome her. But Noll. He didn't like her.

He couldn't really stop thinking about him ever since they talked earlier this day.

No, stop.

 _You're on a date, Eugene Davis!_

His eyes scanned the environment. No one was around. They had no choice but to seek out places hidden from people's view.

"Liz."

He took her hand and pulled her under a tree. Gene placed his lips against hers. She responded quickly. The kiss lasted for several seconds before he pulled away.

"Wow," she said under her breath.

"... How was it? I don't suck anymore?"

A month ago she politely 'complained' that he was awful at kissing. He had made it his personal goal to blow her brains off by the end of the month with a wonderful kiss.

She replied with another kiss, going in deep. He pulled her body close to his.

"Hey, stop snogging under that tree!" An old woman's voice complained. "You're ruining my sight."

It was the ghost, but he did not stop. He was determined to ruin the ghost's sight even more after it nearly blew his cover. He wasn't going to let this date go to waste.

"Youngsters these days... snogging like wild animals," the old woman muttered as she judged the kissing couple against the tree.

Eventually Liz decided that it was too cold to be doing "that sort of thing" outside. Raging hormones aside, Gene couldn't blame her. ...He wasn't sure whether to blame the cold on the English weather or the chilly glare of the old woman. The mood got lost once the woman launched a tirade of curses.

However, the ghost seemed rather harmless otherwise, so Gene mentally noted to come back and purify her on another day.

In any case, he walked her home. Well, to the street where she lived. They didn't really talk much. For some reason the joy of dating her had worn off. They only seemed to feel good whenever they were together with their friends, but... whenever they were alone it was like they were holding each other back.

 _Gene, where are you?_

"...Noll," he muttered. It wasn't Noll's usual tone. There was something else, but he couldn't place it…

Desperation, perhaps?

Liz turned to him.

"Did you just say something?"

Gene smiled awkwardly.

"No. … I just remembered I had to do something at home," he said quickly. "You live in that street, right? I'll walk you to the front door."

As expected, Liz shook her head.

"You really don't need to."

He stopped.

"I've been meaning to ask for a while, but is there a reason I can't?"

Liz looked away and sighed. She seemed restless.

"…You can take a look, but make sure they don't see you."

Gene frowned and walked with her until they reached the beginning of the street.

An Asian woman with a young boy came into their view. The boy was playing with a football. The woman stared at her for a while and then a deep frown covered her face. Liz gasped a little.

"Liz!"

It was her mother.

The woman started yelling and Liz yelled back at her. The entire conversation took place in what he presumed to be Korean, so Gene had no idea what it could have been about. The next thing he knew the woman pulled Liz and her son into their house and closed the door behind them. Her mother didn't even spare a glance at him.

Gene put his hands in the pockets of his jacket and walked back home with a heavy heart. He considered texting her, but for some reason it didn't feel like the right thing to do. So he decided that he would talk to her tomorrow at school. Before he reached his home he walked into a nearby park and sat on a bench. He needed to cool his head before he entered the house.

A minute later he received a text from Liz:

 _ **Let's break up.**_

He stared at his phone for a minute. The words didn't settle in at first. They didn't feel real. Period.

His jaw slacked. His fingers didn't know what to do. Sweat started to form on his hands. Confusion made way for panic. This wasn't happening, right? She was going to leave him? No way.

However, judging by how she behaved in the past week, it sounded somewhat believable.

He calmly typed a reply and sent it.

 _ **Liz. Before I respond to that could you please tell me wtf happened. I don't understand any of this.**_

He didn't have to wait very long. Her response was swift, as if she had memorized it in her mind.

 _ **I don't think you want to know the reasons. Let's just say my parents are against our relationship.**_

That much was obvious. Gene had more or less expected something like that going by the fight with her mother just now. But still. Is she really going to obey them? He wanted to know.

 _ **We haven't even met properly. How can they be against it? Tell me, I deserve to know!**_

Her reply was blunt.

 _ **You don't understand because your parents aren't Asian. My mother's side of the family hates the Japanese and my father says I shouldn't date until after graduation and hang out with playboys.**_

Gene stared and he was unable to digest it without feeling anger. He decided not to reply to her first comment, because it didn't make much sense to him. His fingers furiously typed.

 _ **Okay... that's just fucking awful. I can't do anything about being Japanese and I am NOT a playboy, you know that!**_

She replied very quickly again.

 _ **I told them many times, but they won't listen! Don't tell me I haven't warned you.**_

Gene bit his lip. If she had told him about this earlier, maybe they wouldn't have gotten into this mess. Gene couldn't type a full response, so he settled for a short message that encompassed his current feelings.

 _ **Fucking hell.**_

This time she didn't reply immediately. He stared at the screen for a long time.

 _ **Then what about you? I've held it in because I have my own problems, but I really don't like you didn't introduce me to your parents even though you say they're nice? And you have a twin brother but you never let him meet me?**_

He stared at her message for a while. So it really did bother her? He felt stupid.

Another message came in:

 _ **And what about just earlier, you saw something, right? You were distracted the whole time after that. This happened before too. You're really strange.**_

 _You're really strange._ That sentence stuck out to him for some reason. And it hurt.

Tears started to form in the corners of his eyes as he slowly typed a reply, hitting the final nail in the coffin.

 _ **Okay. let's break up. This isn't going to work.**_

He hung his head and waited.

 _ **I won't tell any of the others about that if you don't say anything about my parents. understood?**_

It was an oddly cold message. It sounded like she was trying to get away from him with an undamaged reputation.

 _ **Deal. Goodbye, Liz.**_

That was it. He slid the phone back in his pocket.

Eugene Davis sat there and decided it was the worst breakup ever. Even if she had only been his first girlfriend. He never would have imagined that they would breakup through texting. …Not to mention he currently felt like used goods. Thrown away the moment it got inconvenient.

Suddenly he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Noll?"

Of all the people he had to meet.

He turned his head and coldly gazed back at the man behind him. Lin was on a bicycle and blankly stared the boy. Gene did not feel like correcting him. He wanted to jostle the man off his bicycle. Just because. _Just because it wasn't his damn fault in the first place_. Why were people blaming him for something he did not do?

Lin stepped down from his bicycle. It seemed he had not noticed the tears on his face due to the darkness.

"I came here for a visit. What are you doing out here?"

Gene just remembered that Lin had an appointment with Martin after they would return from their trip.

"Nothing," he said, trying to prevent any emotions from leaking into his voice.

Gene stood up from the bench and walked towards his home. Lin followed closely after him. He spotted his parents' car outside the home. They had returned already, but he did not feel like meeting with them right now. He opened the door and entered the house. Lin entered soon after him, but Gene did not pay any attention to the man after this.

Unusually enough, his twin was sitting on the staircase. Noll raised an eyebrow when he saw Gene's tear-stained face.

His voice finally broke.

"Out of the way."

He pushed Noll aside and went straight to his bedroom. He threw his jacket on the floor and laid on his bed with his face half-buried in his pillow.

"What happened?"

Noll had followed him into the room. He picked up Gene's jacket.

Gene let out a sob.

"We broke up. I'm going to sleep."

His twin let out an audible sigh and closed the door. The room went dark.

* * *

Gene opened his eyes sometime after that.

But he was no longer in his bedroom.

A dream? No, it wasn't.

For a moment it seemed like he had synced into a psychometric vision. But he felt numb. His senses would normally connect to a person within Noll's vision, but he felt absolutely nothing. He did not hear anything either. He could only see what was happening in front of him.

The thin curtains of the room were closed, making the room sufficiently dark enough to obscure some of the details within it. His gaze was focused on a bed with a man lying on it. This man was connected to various machines through tubes and wires.

A hospital room?

He focused on the man's face, trying to decipher the finer details, but everything was fuzzy.

Gene could make out his short black hair. His long bangs covered his eyes, but he could see they were closed. He appeared to be Asian... Japanese? He looked strangely familiar.

Wait.

An identical form started to emerge from the man and sat up from the body. This person had died. For a very brief moment the ghost looked straight at him with deep dark eyes.

No.

Suddenly, another figure moved through Gene from behind... a woman threw herself at the foot of the bed. Her shoulders shook and her head hung. She leaned against the bed. To the right he saw a screen with a straight horizontal line - his heartbeat had stopped.

No.

He looked back at the identical form of the man in the bed - the ghost. The ghost looked at the woman and put a hand on her head with a sorrowful face. It was a very pained look. He knew. The man knew he was dead.

Then many more people started surrounding the woman. Gene did not recognize any of them.

He could only look at the ghost. _I know you. Who are you?_ The ghost lifted his eyes. He had seen those eyes before in his own mirror and in Noll's, but never on a face of that age.

The lips moved - _Gene_.

Gene couldn't comprehend the situation.

Noll?

If this was not a past, and not a present... Then Gene decided it had to be a dream. It couldn't be anything else. But dreams were not supposed to look this real.

The woman stood up. The ghost tried to point at someone else near the bed, but she wouldn't look. She couldn't see at all. She had fallen into grief and tears clouded her vision. The ghost stepped out of the bed and walked up to the man he had pointed out - ignored by everyone else. The man's head hung and had not moved for a while. Gene could not see his face at all. The ghost stared at the man for a while. Then he moved towards Gene's point of perspective.

The ghost was right in front of him and gazed intently at Gene. Their gazes aligned evenly.

Then Gene knew, this is Noll. This is Noll, but older.

What?

Suddenly he synced into a conversation. But it wasn't a conversation through sound. It was similar to a telepathic conversation, and yet it wasn't. There was a lot of static. And something filtered out the noise. Only scraps of sentences made it to Gene.

 _\- crows - found - deathbed - sooner than - thought._

 _But - worry -_

 _She will cope._

 _No, you worry more about -_

The ghost - Noll briefly looked behind him. His expression was impenetrable.

 _\- because no one knows about him._

The ghost turned his gaze to Gene, who was looking at the mourning people.

 _\- forget - this._

But Gene could only watch the woman and man crying at the bed.

 _I don't want to see this._

His head turned to look back at the ghost. Noll looked pained and began to walk.

 _\- are you going?_

He could barely make out the following words:

 _To the light_.

The static vanished the instant Noll walked through the door of the hospital room. Gene wanted to follow him, but he couldn't move. He looked back at the other people in the room. Then he noticed a woman staring at the door as well.

She knew.

He didn't know whether it was the same woman as before. She simply shook her head, and her mouth moved. She spoke in Japanese. He could only read her lips, but for some reason he understood.

 _"Go, go after him."_

Gene panicked and turned immediately. He started running. But he saw no light.

Instead, everything around him crumbled.

 _Noll. Where are you? Don't leave me alone. Noll!_

The vision went black, but he was still screaming through the channel.

 _Please. Don't do this to me._

 _NOLL!_

He heard the sound of footsteps in front of him. Someone grabbed his shoulder and shook him.

"Wake up! Wake up. Gene!"

Noll?

His leg kicked at something. He disentangled himself from the hands that shook him. Then he fell on the carpet of his bedroom. When Gene came to, he found Noll hunched over with a hand against his own stomach. His brother was groaning.

Then Gene noticed the cold sweat all over his body. It had also permeated the clothes he had not bothered to take off just earlier. He felt very uncomfortable and sticky.

Noll stood up with a deep sigh.

Gene stretched his arm out to Noll, but he couldn't reach him.

"Noll..."

Noll looked at Gene's half-stretched out arm and pulled him up. His legs felt weak. Noll forcefully pushed him back on the bed. Gene tried to sit up and pull himself together.

The light went on in the hallway. Martin's head popped into the room and blankly gazed at the spectacle in the room.

"…What happened?"

Noll explained without asking Gene.

"He had a nightmare."

"I'll bring a glass of water."

After Martin left to go downstairs, Gene looked at Noll and let out a sob.

"What did you see?" Noll asked quietly as he sat down next to him.

Gene could not bring himself to talk immediately and took this moment to lean against Noll's shoulder.

 _He's alive, he's alive. It wasn't real. Noll is alive._

"What happened?" His brother said in a gentler tone.

Gene tried to roll the words over his mouth.

"You... died," he whispered.

Noll's shoulder stiffened.

Gene continued.

"You were in the hospital, surrounded by people. I was there too. I... I... saw your ghost."

"Stop."

"You told me-"

"Stop it, Gene."

Gene looked up and met his brother's eyes. Strangely hollow, just like in the nightmare.

"But..."

His mouth fell open a little.

"Enough Gene, don't think about it anymore."

The words came out like a plea. Noll seemed very unsettled. It was just a nightmare, right?

"Then what was that...?"

Noll didn't reply. He simply pried Gene's hands off his shoulder and turned his head away. The expression on his profile was impenetrable, just like in the nightmare.

Noll got up from the bed once they heard Martin's footsteps on the staircase.

"Boys. Here's the water."

Noll silently retrieved the glass of water and gave it to Gene.

Martin blearily stared at the twins.

"Gene, I heard you had a bit of a rough day, so go to sleep soon. You too, Noll."

Both nodded and watched their father leave.

A bit of a rough day. Now that was the underestimation of the century.

Before he left the room, Noll cast him a long glance.

 _(We'll talk later.)_

Gene looked down at his shirt.

"Ugh."

He wasn't going to sleep in these. Gene took a new set of underwear and pajamas, and headed to the shower.

* * *

Noll returned to his bedroom, closed the door behind him and stumbled towards his bed. He went under the sheets and looked up at the ceiling.

This should not have happened. He wasn't aware of channeling any visions to Gene. In fact, he controlled it to the point that he actively blocked him from seeing the visions. However, he had not seen what Eugene had seen, so what was it exactly? Just a dream? Or was it similar to the visions he had before? If so, how could it have slipped through his grasp?

A ghost.

He was a ghost. So Noll wouldn't have been able to see Gene's vision in the first place. So did it channel to Gene just because he wasn't aware of its existence?

He turned on his side and closed his eyes.

Noll had waited a very long time on that staircase after recovering from those visions. Although he was in two minds on speaking with him about what he had seen, it greatly troubled him that he couldn't meet with Gene right away. So he kept waiting for Gene to come back. Then a chilly thought hit him.

 _What if he didn't come back?_

Noll pushed it far away from his mind.

The door had opened. His parents came through the door. Smiles crossed their lips when they saw him. Luella asked what he was doing on the staircase, but Noll merely shrugged and said that he needed a change of environment. Martin had laughed a little and patted him on the head. His hand was warm and big.

He waited again.

It slowly started to sink in that he could not possibly speak to his parents about those visions. They did not need to know about them. Although he was still skeptical of the visions, he knew better than relaying anything like that to his family. He didn't want to see their faces if he told them.

Then the door opened again, revealing Gene's tearstained face…

Noll gave up on speaking with him at that moment. It seemed like Gene was in no condition to handle something like that at this time. The situation was too precarious. He needed to talk to someone else about this, but who? Lin? Madoka? No, not them…

Noll closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep.

Hours later he woke at the sound of his alarm clock.

After getting himself ready for the day, he took a peek at Gene's bedroom. His brother was sleeping in, so Noll did not expect him to wake up until after noon. He went back to his own room and stared at the letter, still untouched after yesterday's vision. He took a pair of gloves from a drawer and put it on his hands. He carefully folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. Noll stared at it for a while.

He already knew who to contact.

Noll headed downstairs and found Martin in his dressing gown. He was reading a newspaper as usual. His father would drive to college after this.

"Morning, Noll."

"Good morning," Noll said. "I have a request."

Martin looked up from his newspaper, putting it down as a spark of curiosity filled his eyes.

"Oh?"

"I'd like to speak with Mr Grey."


	4. Future Influence

**Chapter 3: Future Influence**

 **Cambridge, May 2006**

Gene winced at the sound of the alarm clock and slapped the button with his left hand. His head dove back under the warm cover. After literally kicking up fuss hours earlier, he awoke from a dreamless sleep. Gene groaned against his pillow, gradually becoming aware of the reality.

 _Liz... Maybe I could patch up with her._

It was a desperate, small thought. He couldn't let things end this way, right? After all, she was his first girlfriend. …But then his thoughts went to yesterday's text messages, and something about them just ticked him off. The idea of getting back together with her increasingly left a sour taste in his mouth.

 _Forget it._

Gene buried his face into the pillow. If only he could sleep the day away without having any nightmares. What if he did? It was decided then; he'd rather have nightmares than seeing his ex-girlfriend at school. Gene's attendance was good, so he could afford to sleep in. He turned his head to the wall. Slowly breathing in and out, he sank into another sleep. To his relief, he didn't see any further nightmares. However, he did dream of a girl... A girl? But it wasn't Liz. Her face was faint. All he remembered was that she was short and cute. Sometimes she would blush at him. Well, girls tended to do that around him... It was strange. He had just broken up with his girlfriend, and here he was dreaming of another girl.

Suddenly, a beep roused him from his sleep. It wasn't his alarm clock though.

He turned his head to look at his mobile phone on the nightstand. He reached out and looked at the notification screen. Two people had texted him. One of them was his classmate Simon. He was in the same circle of friends as Liz. Gene hesitantly clicked on his message.

It read:

 _ **Yo, Gene. You okay? I heard Liz dumped you.**_

Gene sat upright immediately. That didn't happen.

 _ **Wait. Who told you that?**_

His response was immediate.

 _ **Nicole told me.**_

Nicole was Simon's girlfriend and Liz's best friend.

 _ **She didn't dump me! It was a mutual break-up.**_

Simon replied again.

 _ **Really? Well, Liz got over it quickly. I was worried because you didn't come to school.**_

Gene winced. She got over it quickly.

 _ **Seriously? Never mind then. ...I don't want to see her face for a while. That's all.**_

The next reply came a little later.

 _ **I understand. But don't stay away too long. You're on our football team in PE, remember?**_

Gene twitched his eye. _That_ was what he was worried about? He had the urge to throw his phone out of the window. Instead he settled for punching his pillow.

Then he laid down again to think about the situation with a deep frown on his face.

So that meant Liz lied to Simon and Nicole… and they wouldn't believe him over her, of course. Gene only entered their clique a small time before he dated Liz. Nicole knew Liz from elementary school and were 'best friends forever'. Simon was well… just someone. Someone who liked Gene better for his football skills. He felt sad just thinking about it. Gene moved his arm automatically over his eyes, so that the pyjama sleeve would soak up any tears that threatened to fall out.

Why was this happening to him?

Gene sniffed and raised his arm onto his forehead. With his other hand he navigated to the other text on his phone. There was another text, which was sent yesterday at midnight. He had not bothered to check his phone after he had the nightmare.

He smiled a little at the message.

 _ **Hey, wanna go for a drive tonight?**_

It was a short and simple message from Craig, his friend who played guitar.

Craig lived in the neighbourhood and was a year older than him. He went to a different school, so Gene's school friends didn't know of his existence. Martin and Luella didn't seem to be aware of him either. However, Noll did find out that he often sneaked out at night, but apparently not why or with whom. Gene grimaced. After that Martin caught wind of his nightly ventures, and questioned him about it a little, but Noll insisted he had not told him anything.

That was the reason they decided to put the 'driving lessons' on a backburner.

After that they barely contacted each other. Well, that was already two months ago. That happened to be around the time he started dating Liz.

Gene turned on his side and sighed.

A shame, really. He liked driving, and he had gotten pretty good at it. It gave him a sense of freedom, some autonomy. Most of all he enjoyed the "danger"; sneaking out at night and spending time with Craig doing things his parents wouldn't approve of. He associated Craig with all the vices; driving without a license, smoking, and alcohol. Gene couldn't really resist trying them out either.

Of course, not at the same time.

Come to think of it, he'd pretty much neglected Craig while he was dating Liz. It didn't feel right to meet with Craig while he was going out with her. They probably wouldn't have liked each other either. Liz was a popular goody two shoes who went with the whims of her parents. From what he had heard, Craig appeared to be a school delinquent who rebelled against his parents, because he wanted to become a guitarist. Most people would consider it strange that Gene associated with these two extremes.

He typed in a reply.

 _ **Sorry, I had a lot on my mind yesterday. Maybe next time.**_

For now, he just wanted to coop inside his room and sulk the entire day.

Perhaps cry over it a little.

Maybe a lot. Damn it.

* * *

Timothy Grey placed a cup of tea in front of the boy. Usually he received students and fellow teachers in his office, but today was different.

"What brought you here, Oliver?"

"A letter."

"From who?"

"From someone who may be precognitive."

Timothy paused.

Well, this was interesting. He could only assume that his specialization in quantum mechanics would become of use to Oliver Davis' enquiry.

The day he first met the boy came to mind. At the beginning of a previous semester Timothy taught an introduction lecture in physics which also touched upon the principles of quantum mechanics. He found the short teenager sitting among the large majority of bachelor students in the lecture hall. Back then he didn't think much of it; people of all ages occasionally snuck in and tried to make sense of the various lectures taught at the colleges.

Timothy was always happy to see a young teenager interested enough in the topic to join his classes. Oliver was quiet as he soaked up the information in the lectures. He never said anything, so Timothy wondered if he completely understood the theory at all… and how he could get the boy to interact. He asked his name once, but the boy only replied with 'Oliver'. There was no surname attached at all. He would figure out why soon. Timothy inquired with his fellow instructors and heard that the same 'Oliver' was a 'child genius' who often snuck into university classes and could occasionally be found the research office.

It became quite a problem. Not so much for the instructors, but for his school attendance records. One day an instructor from the law department knocked on his door with the request to kindly turn away this 'Oliver' from his classes. That man was Martin Davis and Oliver was his adopted son. He had seen the man quite often in the hallways and in the staff rooms, but other than exchanging some pleasantries they never had deep conversations. They were in completely different departments after all.

Timothy couldn't quite resist inviting the man for a lunch and speak at length about his wayward son.

He looked at the boy. "Could you tell me about the contents of the letter?"

"I prefer to keep it private," Oliver said.

Timothy nodded.

"Very well. Then let's stick to what you can tell me."

It didn't show on his face (he hoped), but Timothy was quite excited to have this conversation with Oliver. He had gratefully accepted the sudden request for a dialogue. Timothy readied his notebook. After Martin gave him his son's paper 'The System of the Unexplained Phenomena' to read, he became quite a fan. A big fan. It was a truly fascinating insight on the state of the parapsychology, and Oliver's paper truly seemed game-changing. Safe to say, it was his paper that got Timothy interested into the field. Formerly he never bothered with it, because the scientific community deemed it to be pseudoscience.

To his surprise he even found a fellow physicist with a shared interest in the grey area between quantum physics and the paranormal on a message board for parapsychology. Timothy couldn't say he dabbled in parapsychology like Martin did, but for now he was open to discussing these topics.

Oliver took a sip from his tea and spoke.

"They wrote my name and home address on the envelope. However, the letter itself was addressed to my brother."

Ah. His brother. If he remembered correctly his name was Eugene. Apparently he was a medium. A perfect medium at that.

"How very interesting. What difference would it make if the envelope was addressed to your brother as well?"

Oliver held his gaze as he answered, "I can only assume that this person wanted to make sure I would make use of my psychometric ability. The contents of the letter would likely be dismissed by my brother otherwise."

"But what do they have to gain by doing so?'

"They wanted me to sense their intentions."

Timothy leaned back in his chair.

"... Hm, but that's not why you have come to see me."

Oliver nodded.

"I used psychometry on the letter as well. Aside from a psychometric vision, I was also able to see _irregular visions_."

He leaned forward.

"Irregular, in what way?"

"I get input from all my senses in the usual visions. In the case of the irregular visions, all except for sight were shut down," Oliver explained. "In addition, I saw multiple visions of a particular time and place concurrently... but the situation changed in each vision."

The boy stared down at the table with a frown. He seemed to struggle with something else.

Timothy persuaded him to go on.

"What else did you notice?"

"These visions…" he paused, "seem to take place in a future."

Timothy was about to ask how he determined that, but he refrained from doing so. He put a hand under his chin. Precognitive visions. The quantum physicist on the parapsychology message board had also briefly discussed that topic.

"...So that's where I come in. Very interesting," he said, nodding. "If I understand correctly your abilities interacted?"

Oliver looked up again.

"Yes."

He let out a sigh.

"Then I must disappoint you, I cannot tell you anything about precogs. I'm very new to this."

"It does not matter. I'm not particularly interested in precogs either. Only the theory behind them." Oliver said. "I would like to know how you think of these matters from your perspective, Mr Grey."

"My perspective… Can you tell me a bit more?"

The boy tapped on the table with his finger as he pondered over what to say. Timothy took this time to scribble in his notebook. The tapping on the table stopped.

Finally, he spoke.

"The psychometric vision indicated that they were very close to a particular girl. The so-called precognitive visions all seemed to be related to the girl's future."

"So this girl seems to be the precog's focal person," he said as he wrote in his notebook. "Were there any other potential focal persons?"

He shook his head.

"No... Only someone who might be of some importance to the focal person."

Timothy lifted an eyebrow. Could it be…? He didn't ask. The boy wouldn't answer anyway.

"Hm. Rather than being fully precognitive, I would say that they are able to predict a future of a person they are close with."

Oliver said. "I see, it's just as I thought."

"Now let's get to what you mentioned before. If I recall correctly, you saw multiple situations of the same time and place in your irregular visions."

"Yes, some visions had different situations which overlapped with one another. Most of the time I only saw one situation clearly. All the others were less visible."

"Ah, that must be the most likely outcome," Timothy said. "What do you remember of my lectures on quantum mechanics?"

Oliver paused. "You said that due to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, we cannot predict the future state of any system. However, we can use Schrodinger's equation to predict the state's evolution."

"And how would you define 'the future'?"

"…A state comprised of all possibilities."

"Well, something comes into existence because of certain conditions. Why would something happen? Under what conditions would it possibly exist? In a precog's case, how would one be able to catch a glimpse of the future?"

"If the conditions aren't right, the predictions would become exponentially more inaccurate."

"…Then if we go by the theory that this precog isn't fully precognitive, and is only able to predict the future of their focal person… What happens if a person whom they don't know does something outside their predictions?"

Oliver cupped his chin with his fingers.

"That would mean they wouldn't get caught in the precog's predictions."

Timothy smirked a little.

"You're getting the hang of it. Well done."

"It's nothing much."

He underlined the conclusion in his notebook.

"What will you do about it, Oliver? As it is, your future has already changed. The visions you saw may not happen in the same way - if they happen at all. Especially if you have some involvement as you don't seem to be the focal person."

"The conditions have changed."

Timothy nodded.

"Not only of what occurred in those visions. I could think of a few other things that have changed. If the letter hadn't arrived and caused you... confusion at a certain level, you wouldn't have made a decision to visit me in my office. In a parallel future I could have been sitting in this office and working on my paper. Its conclusion might turn a little different as I may rework an insight I had from our conversation."

He intently looked at Oliver.

"In other words, you are causing an avalanche of changes by simply talking to me."

The boy sighed.

"You sound very dramatic, Mr Grey."

"And you are not worried? Provided that you put some importance into those predictions."

He looked away.

"Even if I did... I do not particularly wish for the same future."

"Well, this sounds very ominous. Aren't you being the dramatic one, Oliver?"

Oliver sighed.

"It's rather my brother who is being over-dramatic." Then he shook his head. "Never mind what I said."

"Oh my," Timothy said. "Is there anything else on your mind?"

He shook his head again. "No, I'll figure out the rest on my own."

"I hope I was able to help out."

Oliver smiled a little.

"Yes, it confirmed something I was wondering about."

"If you need any more help with this. Please give me a ring."

"I will. Thank you, Mr Grey."

Oliver drank the last of his tea and stood up.

At that moment someone knocked on the door.

The door opened, revealing a young woman with short, curly red hair.

"Ah, hello Tina."

Tina was one of the PhD students in his department.

"I just bumped into Martin Davis in the entry hall. He said he wishes to speak to his son."

She looked at the boy near Timothy's desk. Oliver didn't bother turning around, and got himself ready to go.

"In the entry hall, you say?" Timothy said.

Tina nodded.

"And he has a visitor with him."

Timothy blinked and looked at Oliver. The boy frowned this time.

"Well then," Oliver started to leave. "Goodbye, Mr Grey."

He held up a hand.

"Oh, I'll go with you to greet your father. It's been a while since our last chat."

Timothy went down to the entry hall with Oliver. When they arrived he found Martin talking to an unfamiliar lady. Oliver's pace quickened when he saw her.

"Madoka."

She turned around with a dazzling smile, stopping Timothy in his tracks. He could only watch them from a short distance. The woman named Madoka didn't seem out of place in the university. Looks-wise she could very well be a Master's student.

"Noll! There you are. You should take your phone with you next time."

She had a bright voice. The boy muttered something to her and turned to Martin.

"What's this about?" Oliver asked.

His father answered, "Madoka wanted to talk to you about the trip."

Oliver turned towards Madoka again and narrowed his eyes.

"Are you trying to convince me to go again?"

She tilted her head apologetically.

"I planned on booking a ticket tomorrow, so in a way I suppose it is my last opportunity to convince you to go to Japan. But..."

"But what?" Oliver said.

Madoka showed a nervous smile.

"It's Gene. He's gotten cold feet."

Oliver brought a palm to his face and sighed. "That idiot..."

"Tim!"

Timothy snapped out of his daze. It seemed like Martin had taken note of his presence.

"Oh, hello. Martin. I wanted to see you again. "

"Great." Martin turned to the young woman. "Madoka. Let me introduce you to my colleague from the physics department, Timothy Grey. Tim specializes in quantum physics."

Madoka blinked, "Oh, nice to meet you, Mr Grey."

"He's gained some interest after reading Oliver's work," Martin proudly said.

"Ah, hello. Nice to meet you," Timothy said, a little caught off guard by the sudden introduction. "Yes, it was an excellent paper. Especially at such a young age. It was a very well-deserved honorary doctorate."

Martin continued, "Ms Madoka Mori is one of our investigators at SPR."

"...She's my mentor," Oliver added, somewhat exasperated.

"Y-your mentor?" Timothy widened his eyes and showed his best smile. "I'm honoured to meet you. I didn't think I would meet such an important person to Oliver..."

Madoka smiled back at him, waving a hand.

"Oh, I hardly am. If I'm not mistaken, Oliver used to skip school for your classes."

Martin nodded with a less pleased expression. "Oh yes, he did."

"Well, I always say the more the merrier. Hahaha!" Timothy laughed awkwardly.

A scowl formed on Oliver's face. He was obviously not enjoying the topic of his truancy.

"Madoka, can we talk now?" He coldly said.

However, Madoka's response was warm and radiant, and easily triumphed over Oliver's frigid atmosphere.

"Of course! Hmm, let's see. Mr Grey, do you know where I could have a little chat with Oliver around here? It won't take too long."

Timothy looked up at the ceiling as he pondered.

"The main dining hall should be relatively quiet around this hour. It's not far from here," he said, turning around. "I'll take you there."

Timothy guided them to the dining hall, simultaneously playing the tour guide by pointing out the important and notable rooms along the way. When they arrived, Oliver took a seat at a table in the corner.

Madoka thanked him and offered him a business card.

"Mr Grey. Please take this with you."

Next to her, Martin frowned a little. Timothy took it in his hand. It said: _Madoka Mori, Chief of Field Laboratory Team, Pratt Laboratory, Society for Psychical Research._ The description was followed by an address in Cambridge and a telephone number.

"Thank you…"

Then he reached into his breast pocket. Nothing there.

"Oh, I forgot mine in my office. Shall I go grab-"

Madoka shook her head with a smile.

"No need for that. You may call my number, and give it to me the next time we meet," she said.

He nodded.

"O-of course!"

After saying their goodbyes, Madoka went up to Oliver. They started speaking in Japanese.

The men turned around and headed to their respective staff rooms.

Beside him Martin suddenly spoke.

"Err, Timothy… What did you think of Madoka?"

"What can I say, she's very charming. A very interesting woman. I look forward to meeting her again."

* * *

Hours later the Davis family sat around the table in the dining room.

Luella wasn't pleased. The men were unusually quiet. It felt like she was talking to three walls. Only Martin had the sense to make vague attempts at conversation, but he also seemed very much in a daze. She narrowed her eyes at her husband. It was probably something very embarrassing. She suspected that Martin would soon burst from the silence at the table, so she said nothing until then.

Her gaze moved to Gene. Her son was listlessly picking at a piece of carrot on his plate with a fork. There was hardly a spark of energy in him: he was dully staring at somewhere near the ceiling. Luella turned to see what he was looking at. _Ugh, a spider web._ She made a mental note of having Martin remove the insect from its place once he returned from oblivion.

Her focus returned to her own plate of food again, and briefly glanced up at Gene every so often.

Upon returning home from her work in the morning hours, Luella found Gene moping and wallowing in his bedroom. Predictably, he hadn't gone to school and refused to lunch with her, instead opting to eat sweets and snacks. From the little she had heard from Noll, his brother and his girlfriend had a spat and broke up. Since Liz was his first girlfriend, she couldn't really blame him for feeling down. However, he still had to eat properly, so Luella decided to drag Gene out of bed to have him eat dinner with them.

Luella frowned as she watched Gene picking at a diced potato again. He had the nerve of playing with his food like that. Normally she would make him wash the dishes after dinner, but she was kind enough to let him off this time.

She peered at her other son. Noll was… Noll. He had occasionally looked at his brother, as if mildly worried, but went in favor of going into complete internal mode after five minutes had passed. In this mode he would tune out as many as conversations as possible. This always happened whenever he struggled with a writing block. _Hm, this could take a while._ She looked down at his plate. Noll was already halfway done. Very good. Luella had made fried rice with diced potatoes and carrots, and roast chicken with gravy. She had served gado gado, a fried tofu salad dish, for Noll who was vegetarian. Personally, she liked that dish as well so she ate from it too.

A voice in front of her suddenly spoke.

"Darling, I may have committed a grave error."

Ah, there it was. Martin broke.

Only Luella looked up from her own meal. Neither Noll or Gene reacted, respectively too busy thinking or staring empty-headed at the ceiling.

"Do elaborate," she said.

Martin looked a little embarrassed.

"You see. I took Oliver to the college as he wanted to speak with Timothy."

That was hardly surprising. Noll seemed to 'adore' his classes. Much to their dismay their son had skipped his school classes in favour of going to university lectures. This boy was too impatient. Curiously enough, Timothy Grey let him into his classes. She met the young man once during a staff dinner at the university. He was a tall man with curly brown hair. Personality-wise, Timothy seemed affable, but rather awkward.

"Yes, and?"

"Then I received a call from Madoka. She wanted to talk to Oliver."

Luella put her fork and knife down.

"I assume it was about the trip?"

"Yes, but... I forgot my senses and... introduced Tim and Madoka to each other."

Luella's face blanched. Her eyes had become as big as saucers as she waited for her husband to continue. Noll stared at his mother as if he didn't know she could make that kind of face.

"Madoka seemed eager to keep contact with him. "

The dinner table went silent. Only Gene lazily chewed on the chicken meat without paying attention to the topic at hand.

"And what about Timothy?"

"Well... Tim appeared somewhat... taken by her," Martin said, vaguely gesturing with his hands. He always did that when he was nervous.

She stared.

"That awkward bachelor and... that serial heartbreaker?"

"It... might... work out?" Martin tried, but it was more like a plea.

Luella groaned, putting a hand in front of her eyes.

"Martin. You are many things, but not a matchmaker."

Her husband winced at her words.

Noll sighed, pushed his chair under him away and took the plate from the table. He had not finished his meal. Luella lowered her hand. She wasn't going to let him get away with this.

"Oliver, don't waste your food," his mother said with a sharp voice.

He sat down again. In the meantime, Gene poked at his last piece of potato, lost in thought.

Luella continued, "Madoka is a lovely woman, I really mean it... But do you have any idea how many men she turned down or dumped after a week or two?"

Martin put a hand over his forehead. Clearly ashamed.

"Yes, milady. I know of every single one of them."

"Andrew, Omar, Hiran, Jake, Ethan... and many more," Luella said, counting on her fingers. "And do you have any idea what she said to the men she dumped? 'Oh I'm afraid you're not my type after all. Giggle!' Goodness, that woman."

Noll rolled his eyes. He was obviously disinterested in the topic.

"Madoka gets bored of them so quickly," she sternly said. "He might be lucky if he is turned down before such a disaster occurs."

"I dearly hope so."

"...What were you even thinking..." Luella muttered, and resumed eating.

Her husband sighed.

"It all happened spontaneously. If Oliver hadn't come to the college, they'd never met..."

"Don't put the blame on Oliver."

"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that... only hypothetically speaking," Martin said, making a vague gesture with his hands.

Luella paused.

"Ah, you mean to suggest that Noll is the true matchmaker."

"In a way he is. After all, both Madoka and Tim were mutually impressed by the other's standing in regard to Noll."

"Hm..." Luella looked at Noll with narrowed eyes. "Not bad."

Noll finished his last piece of potato. His plate was empty. He looked at Luella who nodded in approval.

Then Luella said, "But it's not the end of the world if it doesn't work out. There are more fish in the ocean."

She pointedly looked at Gene, who had emptied his plate as well. He gazed back at her. His eyes looked a little sad.

"Next time. Do introduce your girl to us as well. And never mind what Noll says about her," she said, shrugging. "He's not in that phase yet, it seems. He wouldn't understand."

Aforementioned son looked a little irritated.

Gene nodded weakly and sipped his tea.

"Well, a boy is fine too," Luella casually added. "It's silly to hide it from us."

"Hrmph!"

Gene barely prevented himself from spitting out his tea. He put a hand in front of his mouth and swallowed. Noll could only watch and sigh. Luella was half-amused.

"Ah, um... I'm going to do my homework."

That was the first sentence he spoke at the table. Noll looked up at his brother. He was probably very worried about him even though he didn't show it. After Gene cleaned up, he promptly fled the room without saying another word.

Martin got up as well, swiftly putting the ball into Noll's court. "...My turn to wash the dishes, I suppose."

Noll stared at Luella, who gazed back.

"What?" she innocently said with a tea cup in her hand.

"Thank you."

* * *

Gene entered his bedroom in a hurry, sat down at his desk and let out a deep sigh.

Luella's offhand comment had taken him by complete surprise. What did she mean by "It's silly to hide it from us"? He didn't particularly hide Liz from them. Gene _had_ shown Luella a picture of the girl. Or did she think he was making that all up and that Liz was actually a bloke...? No way. Not to mention he _never_ had a boyfriend. Was she just making a general comment or was it based on speculation? Gene frowned at a pile of school books. No, Luella wasn't into dumb speculations like that. Plus, her comment wasn't directed to Noll who had no sign of a love life. So it had to be something else.

Gene shook his head and grabbed a school book. He might as well do homework to clear his mind.

Not a minute later his attention was thrown off when Noll entered his room and sat down at the end of his bed. Gene glanced at him with a frown. Without saying something, his twin opened a book and started to read. Noll's concentration immediately seemed to pour into his book.

And then silence.

Gene made a face.

Noll _never_ read in Gene's room. Normally, whenever he wanted to read or do research, he would close off his room from any intruders (read: Gene) with a locked door. Gene himself didn't have a lock on his door. Martin had the door handle changed to one with a lock two years ago when Noll went full-blown mad scientist. That door lock had been the bane of Gene's existence for the last two years. It reminded him of how petty Noll could be.

His twin noticed his stare.

"Are you done moping?" Noll said with a deadpan face.

Gene's eyes twitched. He replied with a forced smile on his lips.

"Hey... I had a very good reason to mope."

Noll ignored him. He closed the book and put it on the bed. His hands folded.

"There's a lot to talk about. Where do you want to begin?"

Noll stared at the wall in front of him.

Gene sighed and turned his head back to look at the school book. He hadn't really thought about... the nightmare or the letter. When Madoka called him earlier this day he even said he needed a little more time to think about the trip. Yesterday had been a big downer. His thoughts returned to when he walked Liz back to her home. He had heard Noll's voice back then.

Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place. Gene turned his chair around and faced Noll.

"You touched the letter. You called out to me, didn't you?"

Noll nodded with a wry smile. "It was very overwhelming."

Overwhelming - just how overwhelming could it be?

"Let's start with that then. What did you see?"

His brother met his eyes.

"The girl - Haruka was writing the letter."

Gene raised an eyebrow.

"Go on."

Noll looked down at the carpet.

"She wondered to herself what would happen if she doesn't mail the letter. The psychometric vision ends here. Another vision starts."

Gene leaned his right elbow against the table and supported his chin with his hand. Well, it wasn't unusual to have another vision, but something about the way in which his twin spoke seemed off.

"The scene changes to a meeting with two other girls and a woman... It looks like a therapy session. It seems to be the last meeting with them. "

"One of the girls is the one she met at the mailbox, right?"

His brother nodded.

"From here on the vision branches out. She focuses on the one where the girl didn't follow her. In this vision she didn't post the letter."

"Huh?" Gene blinked. "I'm sure we saw her posting the letter. It's imagined, right? Because at the beginning you said that she is wondering about a 'what if' situation."

"This vision is different from the preceding one. I could only see what went on. As if my other senses weren't working."

"Because it's imagined? Is that even possible to pick up with your psychometry?"

Noll sighed. "I thought so too, but... it doesn't end there. After this, Haruka seemed to see a series of blurred visions presumably related to the girl. All fragmented. These appear to take place in the future."

"The future? How do you know?"

Noll paused.

"I saw myself there, growing older."

Gene froze, realizing the implications. Noll's older face from the nightmare flashed in his mind.

"Then does that mean, then the nightmare I saw was..." His voice trailed off weakly.

"It's not definite," Noll insisted.

"Then... Did you see it too?"

He shook his head.

"No. I never saw anything like that."

"But you saw yourself in those visions, how much older were you?"

"...I'd say around 17 or 18."

Gene paused. No, in the nightmare he was way older than that. Either early twenties or mid-twenties. He didn't know if he should tell Noll about it. Last night he seemed adamant that he shouldn't tell more.

"And what about me? Why did you call out to me?"

"I didn't see you there," he replied.

"Why?"

Noll sighed. "I suppose Haruka's friend only associated with me for some reason."

Gene couldn't help but grin.

"As in... she's your future girlfriend?"

Noll sharply glared at him. "It was nothing like that."

Gene held up his hands in defense.

"It was just a guess," he said. "If it's not like that, then what were those visions about anyway?"

"It seemed like we were on various cases."

"Cases?"

"I couldn't tell you any details. It's all a blur."

Gene huffed. "Then did you recognize any other people?"

Noll sighed and folded his arms.

"...Only Lin."

His eyes went wide.

"Lin, what was he doing there?"

"Lin and I were in an office somewhere."

That got Gene interested. An office? That could only mean one thing. He remembered the people in his 'nightmare'.

"But there were others... Do they happen to be Asians? Japanese perhaps?"

Noll shot him an exasperated glance.

"Most of them were."

He smirked.

"So Madoka gets what she wants."

"It isn't definite," Noll repeated.

Gene leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, yeah. I heard that already."

Noll sighed again and scratched his head. He seemed really bothered about something.

"Is there anything else?"

He stared back at him, then looked down.

"...No."

Gene frowned, but he decided not question him any further. Perhaps he was still bothered about the nightmare. If it were Gene, he would have been bothered as well.

Noll continued, "I wanted to confirm something, so I went to see Mr Grey."

Gene raised an eyebrow.

"The quantum physicist?"

His brother nodded.

"What did he tell you?"

"It's likely that she isn't fully precognitive, but only able to predict the future of a person she's close with. He said Haruka's friend is the focal person in her visions. It means that if someone she doesn't know does something, it won't get caught into her predictions."

"You're not her focal person. So if you do something..." Gene muttered while pondering over the situation. As it is, the future could already have been changed. No, it had already changed. "...Did you tell Mr Grey everything?"

Noll shook his head.

"No. I said nothing about what happens in the visions or what was written on the letter."

Gene let out a sigh of relief.

"Good, he doesn't need to affect the future."

"No. He's already affected."

Gene blinked.

"Huh? How?"

His brother frowned.

"Weren't you just listening at the table? Mr Grey and Madoka met because of this letter."

Gene glared back at him.

"Correction: Because of you."

Noll looked away.

"It wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the letter."

He heaved his shoulders.

"You could have decided to call him instead of visiting."

"…I'm not good with phone calls," Noll admitted.

 _Yeah, that much was obvious._ Gene thought.

They went silent. The only sound in the room was of his brother flipping through the pages of his book with disinterest. He was waiting for Gene to ask more, but Gene wasn't sure whether he should bring it up.

 _Well, here goes nothing._

"Then what about my nightmare…" he started. "I saw your... ghost? Is it part of that same sequence of visions? Or not? It really bothers me."

"Gene," he suddenly said.

"What?"

"These… precognitive visions had no sound."

"Uh…"

Gene stared.

"Then it really was…"

He didn't let him continue.

"Haruka does not seem to be fully precognitive, which indicates a limitation of Haruka's ability, thus making her a precognitive clairvoyant. …Or it was something you and I weren't able to decrypt." Noll looked at him. "The former is more likely going by your reaction."

"…Decrypt?"

He closed his book shut in a single motion.

"I have a theory about that."

"…I'm all ears."

"Give me something to write on."

Gene handed him a white sheet of paper. His brother placed the sheet on top of his book and wrote three lines on it:

1\. a psychometric vision: Haruka writes the letter.

2\. a series of irregular (precognitive) visions: Haruka meets the girls for the last time + the focal person is on various cases

3\. a (precognitive) vision of the focal person with ESP

"Let's say that the letter contained several information packages. I picked up all three of them, but I was only able the decrypt one and two."

"I only experienced number three. Why?"

"Because I didn't pass one and two through our channel," Noll said. "However, I was unaware of the third vision... It seemed like you were able to decrypt it."

Gene nodded.

"But how possible is it that Haruka is capable of seeing ghosts?"

He shrugged.

"Unlikely, but who knows."

"If she's not, then our Haruka passed on information unaware, because her focal person has some form of latent ESP," Gene said, tapping on point three on the paper.

"It is likely that she herself was able to see pieces of her future... but not of her friend's future ESP experiences."

"So their abilities interacted?" Gene said. "And you picked up on that somehow."

"Define interaction."

Gene rolled his eyes.

"Isn't becoming friends enough?"

Noll sighed. "This is really useless."

"That was the first thing that came to my mind! Don't call me useless because of it," Gene said. "I mean, the more she knows the person... the more clues she gets for her predictions? Her friend is the focal person, so Haruka could have garnered all future ESP experiences from that focal person, and not process it visually as she lacks certain abilities."

A look of surprise momentarily crossed his brother's face.

"Not bad. Mr. Grey said something like that too," Noll softly commented. "You should use your brains more."

Gene groaned.

"Well, maybe our twin channel is a little wider than we thought."

"What do you mean?"

"We haven't experimented with it a lot… Perhaps some of the information you can't figure out, comes more easily to me."

His brother sighed in response. "That's just speculation. I need more data."

Gene smiled wryly. Neither of them were particularly interested in experimenting. So far Gene only experimented when he tried to pull pranks on Noll.

He sighed, looking at the clock.

"But if you come with me... that nightmare won't happen?"

Noll looked a little exasperated. "There's one thing I don't understand. She probably didn't see what you saw. Is it really worth the trouble to have me join your trip?"

"If you don't meet her in Japan," Gene said. "She won't have a family, which includes you apparently. Haruka seems very concerned about that. …But I do think it's more likely that she saw what I saw. Perhaps without seeing a ghost. That must be the greatest reason."

"… I cut off the sequence of visions prematurely," Noll muttered. "You're probably right."

Gene blinked.

"Really. Why?

"Two years' worth of fragmented visions gave me a headache."

Gene snorted.

"Well… then it must have been a good thing I got that nightmare," he said with a bitter smile.

"It doesn't sit well with me." Noll said with a serious face. "Why go through all the trouble for one girl?"

He shrugged.

"That's what friends are for... right? Let's say you were offered a chance to save someone from a drab future, would you do it?"

Noll's eyes stared back at him. His gaze seemed faraway, as if he looked right through him.

"Would I do it?" he repeated, and looked down to his feet before he answered. "Of course."

Gene sighed. His brother was an idiot scientist, but at least he had some shreds of kindness inside of him.

"By the way, Madoka told me you got cold feet..."

 _Oh that._ He made an awkward smile at Noll.

"Err, she didn't call at the right time. I just feel like I want to coop myself up in home for at least a year."

"You still feel like that? All because of a girl?" Noll deadpanned.

"... You really aren't in that phase, are you? Do you even know what I feel like?"

His brother shrugged.

"You should go."

Gene frowned.

"So that you can have some peace of mind? I know you want me to go, because you can do your precious research without any disturbances," he said, pointing at himself.

Noll sighed.

"Gene. 'Don't go alone' doesn't mean not going at all."

That was true. The letter did not say he shouldn't go.

"Just go. I just don't want to see you moping around for a year or more. You would turn into an eyesore."

Gene raised an eyebrow.

"...Are you trying to cheer me up?"

Noll looked away.

"If you won't go, I'll personally drag you there."

He widened his eyes.

"What?!"

"I'm not saying it again."

"Seriously?! You'll come with me?"

Noll sighed. "I'll call Madoka tomorrow and tell her to book two tickets."

Gene dropped his jaw. He could barely process what he just heard. Noll is coming with him. To Japan.

"By the way, you don't have to be considerate of me. It's annoying."

"What?"

Noll sighed again.

"Just bring them home. Your girlfriend... or boyfriend."

Gene blanched.

"...Why did Luella say that?"

Noll shrugged lightly.

"She happened to see you sneaking out at night to meet that guy..."

His cheeks turned red.

"It's not like that. It's not like that at all! He's just a friend!"

"Luella doesn't seem to think so."

"She's wrong about him. Like I said, he's just a-"

"An accomplice in driving without a license?" Noll said and got up. "I shall go inform Luella she was mistaken."

Ruthless. Absolutely ruthless! He definitely used psychometry on him.

"Noll. Don't. Don't tell them. They'll kill me."

Noll showed a content smirk on his face. "Fine then. Let's stick to 'boyfriend'."

Gene groaned.

* * *

 **Author's note**

Timothy Grey was mentioned in the short story "Eugene" written by the author of Ghost Hunt. Gene's friend is also mentioned, but he was unnamed. I gave him the name 'Craig'. You can find links to the translation of "Eugene" and other short stories at GhostHuntHQ on tumblr.


	5. Hiraeth

**Chapter 4: Hiraeth**

 _Hiraeth (n): a homesickness for a place you can never return to, a place which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for lost places of your past._

* * *

 **Cambridge, June 2006**

"You're out of the team."

Gene returned to school a week later, and on that day he happened to have P.E.

He stared back at Simon with an expressionless face.

"Yeah, so?"

Gene intended to sound very disinterested, and it worked.

Simon raised an eyebrow at him, as if he had expected more of a reaction out of Gene.

When Gene entered the classroom Simon and his friends had quietly whispered to each other. The girl whose name shall go unmentioned from now on did not even glance at him. Simon had gotten up from his seat and approached Gene to announce that. His words were anything but shocking. Rather, it surprised Gene that Simon even bothered. He would have found out later that day anyway.

Gene simply shrugged and sat down. He no longer cared and it's not like he had wanted to spend any ounce of energy on Simon's team. It wasn't as if they would work well together on the same team after all that had happened.

Obviously it was the best for both of them.

At Gene's lack of reaction Simon returned to his seat. Gene heard Nicole quietly laugh behind her hands.

"Did he send Oliver in his place, or what?" She said, just loud enough for Gene to hear.

"Beats me," Simon said.

At the mention of Noll's name, Gene could barely keep himself from bursting out in anger. Fortunately for him, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Eugene."

Gene turned his head to the person next to him. Eric glanced at Simon and the others. He wore a displeased expression on his face.

"Just ignore them."

Gene shifted his glance down. He was still angered, but he said, "...Okay."

"They've been talking trash about you all week."

His heart skipped a beat.

"…Who?" Gene asked with a tiny voice.

There was a pause of hesitation.

"Almost everyone," Eric muttered quietly.

His throat went dry.

"…What did they say?"

Eric gave a small shrug before leaning to his side.

"They claim you're hallucinating," he whispered. "Someone said they saw you talk to invisible people."

 _Shit._

This was even worse than he thought. Didn't _she_ say that she would keep quiet about it?

He glanced at the two girls on the opposite side of the room. _She_ looked away when she noticed Gene looking in her direction.

Gene clenched his fist. She _promised_.

Eric continued to whisper, "I think Nicole started it. She also got people from different classes say that they saw you doing the same thing. - did she pay them?"

"I..."

Did she pay them? Gene wasn't sure. Perhaps they did see him doing that... At the very least, Eric didn't seem to believe them.

"Well, I defended you, and Simon kicked me out."

 _What the fuck._

"...Sorry."

"It's not your fault," Eric insisted.

"But -"

"It's not like I wanted to be in his team. I only joined because you were there. Remember?"

"Yeah, t-thanks."

Eric grinned.

"Don't worry about it," he said, whispering again. "Most people don't like Nicole. …Did you know about Viola?"

"Viola?"

Gene turned to look at the girl with a brown ponytail in one of the front seats. Viola wasn't very popular with the other classmates and had few friends in their class. He was also aware of the rumours surrounding her, but they seemed based on what she looked like rather than on facts.

"I didn't know."

"Me too. Viola told me Nicole was the one who started stuff about her too," Eric said, adjusting his glasses. "Sounds like Liz is her groupie."

Gene nodded uneasily. He had no idea it had been them all along. There's no way she wouldn't blab her mouth off to her 'BFF' Nicole.

And no wonder Viola hardly talked to him the past few months...

Their classmates suddenly stopped talking. The door opened. Mr Hope had arrived to take to register.

"Good morning," he said. His eyes scoured the classroom and ended near Gene. "Well, I see one face has returned. Good to see you again, Gene."

Gene smiled sheepishly at Mr Hope.

The class had P.E. later that day. The class had been assigned to play one football match. Gene noticed his new team was much weaker than the other one. They lost the first half, because Simon had scored a goal against them. Gene couldn't concentrate on the match. He kept thinking about the rumours that were spread about him. He couldn't look her in the eye anymore, he couldn't look anyone in the eye.

During the break Gene went to the goalposts where the others stood.

Eric gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Eugene."

"I'm sorry, I just can't - "

"They were hounding you the whole time," Eric said, grimacing. Other people made sounds of agreement.

However, Viola gave him an encouraging smile.

"Let's work together."

Gene blinked.

"Huh?"

"Take revenge, Eugene," Viola said. "Score a goal for us. I know you're the better player."

"Yeah," another classmate said. "But we should think of a plan."

Gene frowned. But there was no way he'd score anything if the other team was… No, this was a chance.

"Wait I have an idea."

He leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Let's put you on the attack. I'll pass the ball to you."

"Eugene! I don't think Viola's interested in you at all."

Gene turned his head. The members of the other team stared at them with amusement.

Viola looked away from Gene with sad expression. Anger started bubbling inside of him. This was just _wrong_. Gene snapped back at the source of the voice.

"Shut up! Mind your own business."

The gym teacher yelled at them to cut it out.

The members of the other team murmured quietly.

Gene looked at Viola with determined eyes. "Just trust me, okay?"

Then he stared at Eric who grinned.

"Ready to kick ass, Eugene?"

"Yeah!"

The second half started. Like in the first half, everyone focused their attention on Gene, who was arguably the best player on his team. Viola moved forward, and Gene passed the ball to her. She scored two times. By the time Simon noticed what was going on, it was already late. Then Gene scored a goal of his own to wrap it up. In the end, Simon's team lost.

Eric, Viola and the others high-fived Gene.

As for Simon, he never talked to Gene again. Nicole and her groupies avoided him entirely. Sometimes it looked like _she_ wanted to speak to Gene, but he ignored her. It was too late to apologize for talking her mouth off.

The weeks passed by slowly after Noll decided to come with him to Japan.

Although Gene still felt uneasy whenever he talked to anyone in school, his remaining days at school were somewhat peaceful. It was peaceful to the point that less people approached him. A gut feeling told him it was caused by the rumours, but perhaps he could also blame that on the nerves for the finals. Gene had no worries about his grades. He often reached top marks on the subjects he liked, and average to above average marks for the ones he disliked. Since he didn't want to think about the messy situation at school, he poured all of his concentration into the preparation of his final examinations.

"Gene."

Noll stood in the doorway. He looked up from his schoolbook. Gene was studying of the final exam.

"What?" Gene said with bleary eyes.

"One of your classmates mistook me for you on my way back home."

Luella often sent Noll on errands and groceries. Noll didn't seem to dislike it, but he obviously thought he could do without. Usually Luella told him to go to one of the Asian supermarkets to get fresh tofu and other ingredients useful for a vegetarian meal, so he never complained.

"Who?"

"Boy with glasses. Curly red hair."

Gene frowned.

"Eric. We skateboard together. And… he was in your class too, you know."

He shrugged lightly.

Of course, Noll wouldn't remember him. Eric was merely a 'pumpkin' in his eyes. Like a commoner to a king.

Noll continued, "He told me... what is going on at your school."

Gene looked away from him. He never told Noll or his parents about it.

"I'm fine now, honestly… It wasn't a big deal."

"Really? Then will you stay there?"

Gene deepened his frown.

"I never considered leaving…"

That was true. The school had an attached sixth form, so there was no need to transfer out. It was also convenient, since it had all the subjects he wanted to do. However, if he wanted to change schools, right now would be the most opportune. It wouldn't be strange to enter a different sixth form college.

"Even if something like that is going on?"

Then Gene noted the use of present tense.

"…What did Eric say?"

"You might not have noticed, but rumours tend to live a life of their own," Noll said monotonously. "Apparently, they also include me. Not that I care."

Gene tightened the grip on his pen. Noll didn't care what people thought about him. What did matter is... What would come next? He didn't want to know. If it got worse it would be very troublesome.

"… Could you close the door. I'm studying."

Noll looked down at the textbook. It wasn't a subject Gene particularly liked.

"It's not like you. You're forcing yourself too much."

"I'm not-"

"Luella said that."

With that, the door closed.

Gene buried his head in his head on the desk. He pursed his lips together.

 _Just ignore it. Ignore everything._

He knew Eric was worried about him. Noll too. But right now this was all he could do. And he didn't want to worry his parents either. Gene had caused them enough worry in the past month.

As the weeks passed by, the grades slowly trickled in. Gene consistently received top marks. He had the sinking feeling he would end up in the same top list Noll got in earlier this school year. Gene almost wondered if he could beat Noll's GCE marks. Noll had taken A levels while still doing his GCE, but even that had been difficult for Noll. Then, when the final grade came in, his form teacher called him to school and personally told Gene he had the best grades of the semester, and the second-best of the entire school year. She was absolutely ecstatic. Gene had only given her a short smile. Then he went home and announced the results to his family. Luella and Martin were deeply impressed.

Noll only gave a small shrug.

"You only managed second-best of the year?"

 _That bloody git._

Gene showed a frosty smile.

"Shut up, Noll."

* * *

Gene went upstairs after dinner and sat down in his chair. He opened his laptop and checked the plans for their trip to Japan.

'Plans'.

He had not much else planned other than staying the first and last week in Tokyo. Madoka and Lin had helped him finding some good hotels in Tokyo, but otherwise Gene was relatively confident that he could deal with it on his own. After the first week, they would head to Yokohama and then to Kyoto. Gene didn't feel like planning out everything down to the tiny details... he would decide on the go.

Gene's gaze moved to the closed door on the other side of the hallway. Strangely enough, Noll wasn't a proponent of doing things 'on the go', but even so Noll let him take care all of the planning. Gene wasn't sure what his brother was thinking. Normally he would let him know which activities weren't to his liking. Was Noll planning on skipping the stuff he didn't enjoy? Gene breathed out and glanced at the ceiling.

He wanted to do something, go outside and meet up with someone. Preferably not someone from his school. But he didn't know who to call - _Ah._

 _Right. I can call Craig._

Gene glanced at the phone next to his laptop.

He got up from his chair, taking the phone with him. Then he sat on the bed.

Gene wanted to see Craig. Go for a drive. Skateboard on the rink. Play guitar. Or perhaps he should ask Craig to teach him the basics. Just to clear his mind. He typed a message.

He received a reply after a minute.

 _ **Sorry, Gene. Got a date with my girlfriend.**_

Gene looked at the message for a long time.

 _Huh?_

His mind went blank. As the meaning started to sink in, he quickly switched to the home screen. _No, this isn't enough._ He turned off his phone and dropped it on the carpet. Gene put his hands in front of his face.

 _I didn't see it. That didn't happen at all._

It wasn't a surprise. Gene knew Craig liked someone else from the very beginning. The first time they met, Craig was singing a love song on his guitar. Gene had asked him about it out of curiosity. Apparently, Craig had been in love with a long-time friend, but he didn't want to lose her friendship if she turned him down. He put the words into a song, because he didn't have the courage to confess his feelings to that girl.

Gene wondered if it was the same girl. If that was the case, he should feel happy for him, but...

 _Why am I still upset? I should have gotten over it months ago._

He never told Craig, because his feelings were one-sided. There was no point in telling him, but something inside of Gene regretted something.

 _Not like this, not like this._

Even if it were to remain unfulfilled, he would at least have gotten closure from Craig's rejection.

Gene lowered his hands and looked at the acoustic guitar in the corner. He moved over to the guitar and took it in his hands. His lips pursed when tears threatened to fall from his eyes. Gene dropped the guitar. It fell over on the floor with a clang. He started sobbing.

"Gene?"

Luella's voice came from the hallway.

He didn't look up. The door was open. Of course, she was able to hear him.

"What's wrong?"

Gene wiped his tears with the sleeves of his shirt.

"I can't play it."

Luella peered down at the guitar and the phone in front of her on the floor. Then she put her arm over his shoulders. He closed his eyes and didn't say anymore.

"You're tired. Take a rest."

Gene dutifully laid down on his bed. Luella started humming. Her voice was soothing and made him feel drowsy. She was right. Lately there had been too many things on his mind. Just too many. He didn't need to think about Craig and everyone else.

After a while another person entered his room. Going by the soft footsteps it was Noll.

( _Sorry_.)

Gene opened his eyes briefly to see the guitar back on the stand. Noll was nowhere to be seen.

He slowly dozed off and saw the vague image of a girl in front of him. She looked faint, but he knew it was the same girl as before. This time more details were visible, as if some puzzle pieces had connected. Who could she be?

* * *

 **London Heathrow Airport, July 2006**

Time passed by quickly.

 _Too quickly_ , Martin thought.

With bated breathed he watched as his sons passed through the gates. The boys took one last look behind them. Gene waved at them with a cheerful smile. Noll shortly held up a hand with a stiff smile. They waved back at them. Martin gave a reassuring nod. Noll was the first to turn around, and Gene followed.

"Well, this is it. We won't be seeing them for a while," Martin said as he lowered his hand.

Luella nodded beside him, speechless. She dabbed the tears trickling over her face with a paper tissue.

He gave Luella's hand a tight squeeze as the boys left their sight.

"I'm glad Noll joined him on this trip."

"Yes," he agreed.

Martin didn't want to think of Gene going alone on this trip in the state he was in for the last couple of months. They had been very worried about him.

Dealing with heartbreak was never easy, but Martin believed it would come to pass eventually. Gene was still young. One day he might look back and no longer care, or even laugh about it. Before he met Luella he had his own has share of failed crushes. It was always difficult to get through, but a positive attitude helped him to look ahead. Martin hoped that Gene would share that same outlook. He let out a breath of relief when Gene's enthusiasm reached its peak just before the flight. A spark had returned to his eyes. A trip abroad would do him good.

Even Noll appeared to have brightened up a little. Martin couldn't exactly pinpoint what went on in his head. Noll seemed to be doing alright, but there was something - Luella mentioned Noll had become more 'considerate' of them as a family in his own way. Was it because of Gene? _It had to be Gene_ , she had said. _It's the twin bond_.

Martin supposed that might be true. But there _was_ something else. He had changed his mind about not going to Japan. It happened right around the time when Noll met up with Timothy.

"Shall we go?" A female voice behind them said.

Martin turned his head to the source of the voice. Madoka stood a little further away from them. He would talk to her later about Timothy in the car. One of Timothy's students, Tina, if Martin remembered correctly, passed on the news that Timothy had gone on a 'date with a woman'. Tina believed it was the young lady Martin brought along back in May.

Martin didn't intrude into their affairs, so he wisely kept it to himself, but he was admittedly curious.

"Yes," he said and looked at Luella. "Coffee first?"

Luella shook her head and faced him with a firm expression. She had quickly recovered from the emotional moment just a minute ago.

"No, that will be alright," she said, looking down at her wristwatch. "I have to drive back to Cambridge now if I want to make it to my appointment."

Martin nodded.

"Then let's head back together to the cars."

Luella linked their arms, and together they followed Madoka to the parking space.

Martin had decided to visit the main office in London after dropping Noll and Gene off at the airport for a meeting. Madoka would attend as well, while also taking care of some other matters.

It seemed like Noll's willingness to go to Japan had stirred her hopes of establishing a Japanese branch office. Martin could only assume she would take up to the ones in higher authority if she received Noll's approval of her proposal. If so, the beacon of parapsychology would cross the globe rather than stay in England. He wondered how Sir Dorey would react to the news. Sir Dorey placed all of his hopes on Noll, but the old gentleman was already in his nineties. Martin hoped it wouldn't be too much of a shock.

While they tried to do their best to protect Noll and Gene, Martin and Luella didn't want to hold them back on doing things that they wanted to do. As their parents, they were always supportive of their endeavours...

"Professor?"

Martin blinked. They had arrived. Madoka opened the door of her car.

"Hop in, Martin. Don't keep her waiting."

To his embarrassment he had zoned out while he was deep in thought. He was glad Luella had taken his arm. Surely he would have bumped into something.

He pulled the car key from his pocket and handed it over to Luella.

"I'll see you tonight then."

He kissed her goodbye and went to sit in the passenger seat. Luella walked to the car on the opposite side. Martin and Madoka would have dinner in London with the others before returning to Cambridge. After all, a long time had passed since their last meeting.

Madoka drove the car into the direction of London. The Society for Psychical Research was about twenty minutes away from their current location.

Martin started the conversation when they left the airport's premises.

"Say, Madoka. Have you heard anything from my colleague lately?"

"Colleague?"

"Timothy Grey. The one you met when-"

"Oh! Yes, he called me back sometime after that."

"And?"

"We met up in a coffeehouse three weeks ago."

"I see."

Martin sighed. So that meant there hadn't been any subsequent dates or progress at all. But still. Tina had winked at him when she confronted him with that message. Did that mean Timothy was interested in Madoka after all?

"I'm taking him to the laboratory tomorrow."

He blinked and turned to look at her.

"Huh? What?"

Madoka frowned a little.

"Are you even listening, Professor?"

"I am, but - by laboratory, you mean, the Pratt Laboratory?"

"The one and only."

"You invited Timothy?"

"Well, he seemed very interested."

Martin turned to look at the highway again. Surely, Luella would strangle him if she heard about this.

"Never thought you would invite him."

Madoka laughed a little.

"It's a pity he couldn't come when Noll was around. He would have made for a better tour guide."

Martin highly doubted that, but the thought of it amused him greatly.

Minutes later Madoka parked her car in the neighbourhood. Martin stepped out of the car.

Contrary to what one would expect, the office wasn't located near other business offices or research centres. It was in a residential area with some shops here and there. The Society's office itself was rather small, but it contained a sizable library of parapsychology literature.

Since there were no parking spaces near the office, they had to walk a minute to get there.

Suddenly, a ringing sound came of Madoka's coat. She pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Sorry, I'm picking this up" she said. "Please go ahead of me, Martin."

"Alright," Martin said as he walked on.

Behind him he caught part of the telephone conversation.

"Hello, Mr Grey."

Martin slowed his pace.

"Your dinner party was cancelled? …Oh my …Yes, of course we can grab a bite after your visit to the lab. …Indian sounds good to me."

He returned to his normal pace again.

 _Well, this could get interesting._

* * *

 **Tokyo, Mid-July 2006**

Normal families in Tokyo would be celebrating Obon around this time, but Satomi wasn't part of any family. Neither was the girl who she was about to pay a visit.

It would be the first time Satomi didn't spend Obon in the orphanage ever since she was placed out of her family home. She was glad as the orphanage was a place she detested. It was particularly gloomy there around this time. After all, it was a day to commemorate the spirits of one's ancestors, and most of the children who lived there had lost their direct ancestors.

Satomi didn't have any special feelings toward that holiday - in fact, she would rather ignore it. Even after her parents would pass away, Satomi doubted she would ever celebrate it. She carried no fond memories of the time she spent with them.

The plastic bag in her hand swayed a little as Satomi stopped in front of the door of the boarding house.

 _This is the right address, isn't it? What if she already moved away?_

After some hesitation she rang the doorbell.

Seconds later the door opened. Large brown eyes stared at her in shock. Her friend still lived here.

"Satomi-san!"

She gave her best smile.

"Hello, Mai."

Mai's mouth widened into a big grin. They hadn't met up since March.

"Come in! Come in!"

She entered the boarding house and was relieved to be rid of the humid, hot air outside. Satomi undid her shoes at the entrance and put them next to a familiar pair of worn, red sneakers on the floor. There were three other pairs of women's shoes too, but going by their looks they seemed to belong to adult women. _So the other boarders are at home too_ , Satomi thought.

"You should have told me you were coming. I would have bought more food," Mai said.

"Don't worry about it. I brought some yakisoba and karaage," Satomi grinned, holding up the plastic bag.

"I just wanted to surprise you. I figured you might want to have some company around during Obon."

Mai looked up at her in surprise, and shifted her gaze to the floor with a sad smile. It almost seemed like she was going to burst into tears, but she held it in. Just barely.

Instead, she nodded and said, "Thank you."

The look on her face almost broke Satomi's heart. This time of the year was tough on Mai, as expected. She had seen the same looks in the orphanage too, but at least the children had each other.

A door opened. From it an elderly man peeked through the gap.

"Oh, your friend?"

His voice was scratchy. He seemed to be in his eighties.

Mai nodded with a smile. "Yes, this is Shiozaki Satomi."

She bowed a little. "Sorry for intruding."

The man nodded his head,

"Tanaka-san is my landlord," Mai explained.

"I see."

"I'm glad to see you have some company," Tanaka said. "Please make yourself at home, Shiozaki-san."

Tanaka closed the door.

Mai turned into the direction of the kitchen. "Um... I'll prepare some tea. Green or black tea?"

"Black, please."

Satomi looked around while Mai prepared the tea. The place looked rather old. She looked down the hallway and wondered if she was getting along with the other boarders.

"Tanaka-san seems like a nice person," she muttered as they waited for the water to boil.

"He is," Mai said. "His wife Mamiko lives here too. They've been taking boarders after their daughters left the house."

After Mai finished preparing the tea, they left the kitchen and threaded on the creaky staircase to the second floor. She followed Mai to a room at the end of the hallway.

Satomi wondered if Mai has had any other visitors visiting her after she moved into this place. Mai seemed like the type to have many friends. Many people naturally supported her. Satomi had been jealous of her back when they first met, but she warmed up to Mai rather quickly so those thoughts had left her head immediately. It was rather silly of her, now that she thought about it.

Satomi stepped into the room and looked around. It had some old bookcases, a futon, and a small round table at its centre. The room also had a balcony.

"Your room looks nice."

"Thanks, it's small, but it's inexpensive and not far from my middle school."

It was a bit smaller than Satomi's room, but enough for a school girl.

Mai had started living on her own earlier this year. It would be her first Obon without a family around her. Her father passed away when she was little. Then Mai moved away from her original home in Kanagawa prefecture, because her mother found a job in Tokyo. Unfortunately, her mother died from shock in an accident in the summer of her second year in middle school.

A teacher took her in after Mai turned an orphan, but she felt uneasy about intruding into her teacher's family life. That's why Mai made the decision to move out. It was difficult to arrange because she couldn't afford an actual apartment. Satomi was in the same boat. That's how she ended up meeting Mai at the social service centre.

Satomi sat down on the floor at the small round table. She placed the plastic bag next to the table.

"Here you go."

Mai placed a cup of tea in front of her.

Satomi sipped from the tea. It was still a little hot.

Mai said, "It's been a long time..."

She nodded.

"Yeah... Have you heard back from Haruka?"

Mai shook her head.

"No, I haven't. She did say she wouldn't be able to contact us for a while."

"I wonder why," Satomi said.

"I'm sure she must have her own reasons."

Satomi nodded. If she had to guess, it probably involved her parents. According to Haruka they died in a robbery. The girl could fortunately escape, but apparently the murderers were still at large. It was a bit frightening to think that they might go after her as well.

"We can only hope she's doing fine," Satomi said.

Mai nodded and took a sip from her own cup of tea. Her gaze shifted to the plastic bag.

"Oh, let me take these out."

She grabbed the bag and pulled out plastic containers with yakisoba and karaage.

"Oh, that looks so delicious!" Mai exclaimed.

Satomi searched for chopsticks in the bag and pulled them out. They arranged the food on the table.

"How's school, Mai?"

"Oh, it's going great," she said, grinning. "And I got the scholarship from the school that offers scholarships for orphans."

"Wow. Congratulations!"

"Thanks!" Mai said. "But it's still a little far from here, so I'll probably move out again. I'm a little sad to leave this place, but it will save myself time and money from commuting."

"That's really great to hear."

"What about you, Satomi-san?"

She gave a small shrug.

"Well, I work at a family restaurant. I dropped out of high school as you know… I don't think I'm ever going back. I'm just not cut out for it."

Mai looked a little sad. "I see."

"Sorry, Mai."

"You don't have to apologize. I understand how tough it is," she said. "Sometimes I'd rather just work too. I don't get enough allowance to afford some things."

"I hope you're at least eating well."

Mai showed a sheepish smile.

"Within a certain budget."

"Mai..."

Satomi sighed as she watched Mai eat a piece of karaage.

"Hmm, delicious! I haven't had this in so long!" Mai said with a happy sigh, while putting a hand against her cheek.

"I'm glad you like it. I made it myself."

"At the restaurant?"

"Yeah, it's the first time I tried one of their recipes," Satomi replied. "For now I'm only doing the menial stuff so it's not at all amazing yet... I don't regret my choice though. I intend to work my way up while I'm there."

"I'm sure you can."

"Thanks Mai."

"She asked me a strange question."

"Hm?"

"Haruka did. I just remembered again."

"What did she ask you?"

Mai looked down at her hands.

" _If you could go back in time, would you save your only family?_ "

Satomi blinked.

"...Huh. What's the context?"

"I showed her a book at the library... You know, the one about time travelling? I think it had to do with that. But it really came out of the blue," Mai said, using the chopstick to pick up another piece of karaage. "Anyway, I told her that I would do it."

She took a bite.

"Hmm. Delicious!"

Satomi could only sigh and eat her soba.

Ezawa Haruka was a pretty girl with long black hair, and rather intelligent for her age. Mai probably didn't notice, but being one year older than both of them made Satomi feel a bit inadequate. Haruka seemed to have a bright future before her.

Mai continued speaking, but in a questioning tone.

"Satomi-san, have you noticed that she knew... things?"

She looked up from the plastic container in front of her.

"What kind of things?"

"Things that are to come."

Satomi frowned.

"Like a fortune teller?"

"Something like that."

So Mai did notice something about her. Satomi herself couldn't place what exactly felt off about Haruka. Only that she was pretty smart for her age.

"Sort of... but I don't really believe in stuff like that."

"Right, it's a bit hard to believe," Mai said and sighed. "But there are some things that just stood out to me. For example: After one of the earlier meetings, we decided to hit up a cafe nearby. The two of us were walking ahead of her."

"Now that you mention it... We were caught up in a conversation back then. Then she yelled at us to watch out for the bike. But what was wrong with that?"

Mai leaned forward. Her eyes lit up as if she was telling a ghost story.

"We were walking next to a building on the left. She was trailing behind us... But from her point of view, she couldn't have seen the bike coming at such a high speed."

Satomi could remember that distinctively. She placed a hand in front of her mouth.

"That's so weird..."

"Yeah."

Mai stared at the ceiling with a pensive face.

"But you know? I think that was her way of doing her best for us, even if she was a little secretive."

"That's true," Satomi agreed. "She offered me some advice on whether to go to high school or not. Our advisor kept pushing me to go to high school. I really had no idea what to do."

The advisor said that many orphaned kids ended up not going to high school and doing low wage jobs. They were rarely supported. That woman was also afraid she would end up becoming a hostess, or worse, fall into prostitution.

Satomi continued, "But Haruka told me to do something I enjoyed... something I was passionate for. Then one day I cooked for some of the kids at the orphanage... The kids told me they liked my cooking... and it made me really happy.

Mai smiled.

"Sorry, I know that you wanted me to finish my high school too..."

"No, don't mind it. It's just that my mom always told me it was important to finish my education... but I understand it doesn't work about for everyone."

After they finished eating the soba and karaage, Mai looked outside. Satomi leaned backward, leaning on her arms on the floor.

"By the way, are you doing anything special for Obon?" Satomi said.

"...Like putting vegetable animals out?'

"Yeah."

"I was about to get the cucumber and eggplant out of the fridge, but then you turned up," Mai said with a small grin. "I'll got get them this time."

Satomi cleared the table before Mai returned with the vegetables.

After making legs out of the disposable chopsticks, they turned the vegetables into a 'horse' and a 'cow', Mai and Satomi put them out on the balcony. Together they sat while looking at the dark sky outside. Mai had lit some incense between them. According to Obon tradition, the trail of incense helps the spirits find their way home.

Satomi watched the trail of smoke rise into the night sky.

Suddenly she heard a sob next to her. Mai held her head low and began to cry quietly. She made attempts to wipe her tears off her face, but the tears kept coming. Satomi placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and silently hoped that the days coming for them would be less lonely than they were now.

* * *

 **Tokyo, Late July 2006**

Save for a stopover in Moscow, both Noll and Gene were able to sleep through most of their flight. The flight to Japan was uneventful; there was some turbulence, but nothing bad, and the meals ranged from bland to surprisingly decent.

After arriving at Narita International Airport, they made their way to the underground train station. It took another hour to make it to Tokyo Station where they would transfer over into the direction of their hotel.

Soon enough almost everyone around them spoke Japanese. Whenever Gene approached someone for help with directions, they would address him in Japanese.

 _Strange_ , Noll thought.

Gene picked up on that stray thought and agreed. ( _Yeah._ )

Noll and Gene spent their whole lives speaking Japanese which only a few people in their surroundings could understand. Now it suddenly dawned on them that they could no longer use Japanese as their "secret language". They would have to settle for English or telepathy instead.

Obviously, Noll and Gene stood out, because they were twins. But otherwise they blended in with the local population. No one gave them quizzical stares until they opened their mouths.

He wasn't sure what gave them away. The spotty vocabulary? They had to thank Madoka and their others for helping them retain fluency, but both Gene and him never actively learned to build more vocabulary. Even when speaking in Japanese they tended to rely a lot on English. Now, it became increasingly apparent that they missed out on certain words and idioms.

Was it their manner of speaking? No, Madoka had drilled them thoroughly on using polite Japanese language, Noll reluctantly remembered. They never learned it before meeting her. Or was it their accent after all? Gene had asked Madoka about it before the flight, but she swore that they sounded "relatively normal". If there was an accent, it wouldn't have been obvious at the very least.

Noll decided it could be a combination of all those things.

Speaking of Madoka, she had given them some suggestions on what places to visit in Japan, but Gene insisted on freely traveling without a plan after they reached Kyoto. On the other hand, Gene had asked him multiple times whether he had any places he wanted to visit, but Noll left everything up to him - he didn't have any particular places he wanted to visit.

Noll didn't know where this approach would take them. Would he see the lake in the vision? It would completely confirm the so-called precognitive visions. Somehow he doubted it, and yet... he was morbidly curious. This curiosity prevented him from meddling with Gene's 'plans'.

It was an experiment, so to speak.

When they checked in at their budget hotel in Shinjuku in the afternoon it was relatively sunny.

However, Japan at this time of the year was humid and rainy.

After dinner in the hotel they headed to a convenience store to pick up some essentials. A few minutes before they exited, it suddenly started pouring buckets of water. As such they were forced to buy umbrellas at the convenience store. However, that still didn't prevent their shoes from becoming soaking wet. They spent that day inside, recovering from the flight and all the new experiences. The next morning Gene dried their moist shoes with a hairdryer on the balcony.

Japan at this time of the year was also hot.

He quickly realized this during their walk in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden around noon the very next day. Unfortunately, Noll couldn't stand the heat. He wasn't used to it at all. England never reached these high temperatures for long periods of time. And to his irritation Gene seemed surprisingly okay with it. He never lacked any energy, while Noll had to suffer through wet t-shirts and a sweaty forehead. Because of all the sweating and walking they always took care of staying hydrated as they explored Tokyo.

 _The experiment has to proceed_ , Noll miserably thought while trying to keep up with Gene's pace, as if to convince himself he made the right choice.

* * *

Usually, Gene fell into a deep sleep after a long day of walking, but sometimes he would catch glimpses of a dream where _she_ was in. Then he thought everything away and saw only the girl. _Ah, there she is again._ So much clearer, but her face was down. Gene was dismayed he couldn't see anything else of her. There was some kind of connection, so perhaps he should close the distance. But he was often too tired to reach out for her properly. He was dragged into a deep sleep before he knew it.

She was still on the fringes of his mind when Gene woke up in the hotel room. There was a slight pain - not a physical pain. Ever since he arrived in Japan he would feel this whenever he woke up. Something about the pain seemed very familiar to him. Now he realized it came from the girl.

Gene looked to the side. It was still dark and Noll was sleeping soundly on the other bed.

His eyes were still heavy. Gene fell into a peaceful slumber again.

The morning light shone on his face. He heard Noll pulling the other curtain aside.

Gene groaned.

He hadn't been sure how Noll would fare on this trip.

So far, the lack of input didn't exactly surprise him. Noll indicated he had no interest in particular attractions, and he would let Gene do whatever he liked. …Gene tried to think hard of including things that would please Noll more than the average touristic attraction, but Noll told him not to mind it much.

That made it seem like Noll was going in with an open mind. He even managed to drag Noll into a karaoke room without any resistance. Occasionally he would utter a sigh, or roll his eyes, but contrary to his expectations, Noll hardly nagged at him. Gene supposed he was enjoying it somewhat too, or at the very least seemed intrigued by how different things were in Japan.

Gene could never have imagined this a few months ago. He suspected Noll was 'being considerate' of him. Yes, Gene had been pretty depressed for a couple of months, but he'd gotten over it. Well, more or less.

Gene appreciated the sympathy, but he wanted Noll to enjoy this trip to the fullest as well.

So far, the first week's itinerary was fairly touristy. They visited Tokyo Tower, well-known temples, some famous shopping streets, and so on. Everything was rather convenient. Gene had turned into a huge fan of convenience stores within a matter of a few days. Both of them liked that the trains and metros were punctual. Gene couldn't really say the same about public transport back home.

The food was great. Gene had been really looking forward to that.

Madoka recommended going for breakfast at a set meal restaurant as it was relatively inexpensive.

On the morning of the fifth day they headed to a set meal restaurant near the hotel, which had ticket machine at the front. After paying they handed their tickets to the waitress and sat down at a table in the back.

Although Gene enjoyed the food without a problem, Noll did have some trouble finding vegetarian food. Most of the time he resigned to eating fish if there was no alternative available. Lin had already warned him that it would be troublesome to stick to his diet, and they found it to be true. Gene wondered how Lin coped when he studied abroad in Japan for two years. Going out for dinner must have been difficult for him (if Lin ate out at all).

Their breakfast arrived. This was the second time they visited this particular chain restaurant. Last time, Gene had chosen the silver salmon breakfast. It came with natto, which he eagerly tried, but so far that was the only food he didn't like. It was smelly and he didn't like the stringiness at all.

Gene stared at Noll's natto breakfast set and scrunched up his nose.

"I don't know how you could eat that."

"It's not too bad."

That meant Noll actually liked that sticky mess.

"It's a waste to put that stuff in rice."

Noll shrugged and mixed the natto in the rice with his chopsticks.

Gene sighed and stared down at his own fried egg breakfast set.

The last time he had fried egg was at home. He remembered his parents' faces at the airport.

"What's wrong?" Noll said.

Gene blinked.

"Uh, no. Nothing …I just remembered Martin and Luella."

"…Homesick?"

"Not really…"

"You miss them."

Gene nodded reluctantly and started eating.

He couldn't put it into words, but… he wanted _and_ did not want to go home. He felt guilty about feeling that way. It had never been Martin, Luella or even Noll's fault that things turned out the way it was now. He didn't know how to express it to Noll either. It was very complicated.

He continued eating until a question popped into his mind.

"Noll, what do you plan to do after this?"

It just occurred to him that he was eating very slowly as Noll was nearly done with his breakfast.

"After this?"

"After we return to England," Gene clarified.

Noll placed his chopsticks down.

"I want to focus on my research and enter university next year."

Gene exhaled through his nose with a smile.

Noll said that with such a resolute expression on his face.

"So predictable."

He sighed in response.

"That question didn't drop out of nowhere. What's on your mind?"

Noll leaned his back against the seat, and folded his arms.

"Alright, I don't know yet," he admitted. "But I just realized that I want to see different places. …Perhaps live somewhere else."

Noll stayed silent, looking down.

Gene continued.

"I mean, I don't think I want to stay in one country, just because our parents happen to live there…"

He waited for Noll to react. Perhaps he would shoot this idea down. Gene knew that it would never occur to Noll's mind to leave England… and their parents behind. Noll was so set in his ways. He was a loner who liked the way things were right now; his current livelihood, his research, social life (or lack thereof), and so on.

Gene felt guilty for possibly leaving his parents and Noll behind.

But something about Japan attracted him. Both of them initially had no interest in getting to know their roots. It was part of their blood and Japanese was the language spoken between them. But they, or at least, Gene had trouble disassociating it from their early childhood. It wasn't until after meeting Madoka that he gained an interest in Japan. That's when Gene started to believe that he had been missing out on something.

It probably wasn't as important to Noll as it was to him though.

Yet, after a long pause, Noll only responded with:

"I understand. Do whatever you want."

He blinked at him.

"…Thanks."

Gene was grateful and happy for those words, but he couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

To sum it up:

Gene: *suffering*

Mai: *suffering*

Noll: *experimenting... for SCIENCE!*

...

I, the writer, also suffered by terribly. I went through great pains to deal with the time and place transitions in this chapter, but thematically "Hiraeth" is what unites the scenes. Though it appears that the meaning of Hiraeth strictly applies to Wales rather than in general terms. The chapter title is also a tribute to the debut album of Capeson, a Japanese singer. His album Hiraeth came out just before I started writing this story, and it really helped me nail the feel of this fic. It's a good album and it's completely in English. Also, by some bizarre coincidence the singer used to live in Boston, where Noll and Gene were born (see the short story His Reality). o_O

Since I added Timothy Grey and "Craig", I couldn't forget Mr Hope from the short story "Eugene". He only gets a small appearance though.

Lastly, the set meal restaurant the twins went to is Yayoiken. You can check the menu on their English website for sample pics (...if you dare). I also apologize for talking so much about food in this chapter. It will happen again and again. ...Sorry I can't help it!


	6. A Forked Path

**Chapter 5: A Forked Path**

 **Yokohama, End of July 2006**

Gene turned to look over his shoulder for the umpteenth time.

"What is it?" Noll said, getting annoyed at his behaviour.

"...Nothing."

He sighed.

"It obviously isn't nothing. You've been behaving like this for a few days already," Noll said with a sharp tone. "Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

Gene stared back at him with apprehensive eyes.

( _I think someone was following us_.)

Noll looked down the road.

A few hours ago they had arrived at Minatomirai Station in Yokohama. They walked to the iconic Red Brick Warehouse and had a lunch and shaved ice there. After that, they passed through the Yamashita Park as they had ample time. Then he and Gene headed over to the Yamate neighbourhood which was relatively close by.

There were a few people walking around, going about their own business, but he noticed no one conspicuous. If someone had followed them, Noll would have noticed.

He sighed.

"You're being too paranoid. Let's go."

Gene didn't reply, so they continued walking.

The Yamate neighbourhood was a hilly residential area with a number of parks. Lin told them Western foreigners used to reside in this area when Yokohama Port was opened to the world for international trading about 150 years ago. Even now their influence could still be seen in the architecture. This neighbourhood happened to be near Yokohama's Chinatown, Noll recalled from that conversation with Lin. Gene had wanted to eat Chinese, but it could very well be the case that their client would offer dinner for them.

They stopped walking when they saw a large mansion with a middle-sized front garden.

"Didn't expect anything less of Mr Pratt's friends," Gene said.

The one who requested an exorcism was Suzuki Yoshinori. Suzuki was an acquaintance of Mr Pratt, a British American businessman. Mr Pratt was one of SPR's most important supporters. Even the laboratory in Cambridge was named after him. This was the main reason they had come to Japan.

There was an intercom near the gate. Noll let Gene push the button and do the talking. The gate opened within seconds. They walked to the mansion and blinked when the front door opened.

A maid - ( _they have a maid?!_ ), Gene interjected - came to retrieve them at the front porch.

The maid appeared to be in her late fifties.

"Suzuki-san is expecting you," she said. "Please follow me."

Noll and Gene exchanged glances before they entered the mansion.

They took in their surroundings. Antiques, paintings, a staircase decorated in elaborate designs. All of it pointed to a family of eminence living here.

( _Feeling terribly out of place here_.)

He shifted his gaze to Gene for a moment.

Noll rarely took care of his appearance - that was Gene's duty, but even felt underdressed for this occasion. Then again, no one back home had any clue what type of person Suzuki Yoshinori was.

He turned his head to see the maid opening an oaken door. The door opened up to a spacy living room, which was filled with all kinds of pieces of art.

"I had heard from Mr Pratt that you were young, but not this young," a male voice said.

Noll and Gene shifted their gazes into the direction of the voice. It belonged to an elderly man with a twirled moustache who stood next to a grand window with a view on the front garden. There was a cup of tea in his hand.

"Well, people often say so," Gene said, scratching the back of his head.

Suzuki placed the cup next to a photo album on the coffee table.

At the very least the man had been warned. There had been enough occasions when clients wouldn't believe that they would be dealing with young teenagers.

"And you are... Oliver Davis? Or is it...?"

"I'm Eugene Davis," Gene clarified and gestured at Noll. "This is my brother Oliver Davis, he accompanied me on this trip."

"A pleasure and honour to meet you both," Suzuki said with a slight bow.

After the twins exchanged greeting with him, Suzuki pointed at the couches surrounding the coffee table.

"Please sit down."

Suzuki took the grand seat. Noll and Gene sat down next to each other on the opposite couch.

"It's hot outside, isn't it? Would you like something to drink to quench the thirst?"

"Iced tea, please."

"Likewise."

The maid nodded her head and disappeared behind a door.

Suzuki took the photo album in his hands.

"Before you came in I was reminiscing about my time with Mr Pratt on his estate."

He turned the pages back to somewhere in the middle.

"I was an avid photographer during my trips abroad. This was from my visit to the US about eight years ago."

Suzuki stopped and turned the photo album around. He pointed at one of the photos.

"Here you can see Joseph Pratt with his wife in front of their home. His wife's name was Abby... No, Abigail." Suzuki mused. "A lovely couple."

Mr Pratt had short, brown hair speckled with grey. His glasses were large and round. He was dressed in a prim and proper attire. Mr Pratt looked just like he remembered when Noll spoke to him at the opening party of the Pratt laboratory a little over two years ago.

Next to him stood Abigail. She wore her brown hair in a large bun on the top of her head. Going by her face she also seemed to be in their late fifties. Abigail wore a fancy dress. Noll couldn't quite remember if she had been at that party as well.

Suzuki pointed at a photo right below that one.

"And this is a picture of their daughters... Two lovely young ladies. Their names were Sandra... or Alexandra, and their youngest Sharon."

Noll stared.

"...This was definitely from eight years ago," Gene muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"The nineties, Noll. The nineties."

Indeed. Both girls were dressed in clothes contemporary for their generation. Noll resisted an urge to roll his eyes.

Suzuki grinned.

"Mr Pratt is a businessman whom I met while he was traveling in Asia a few decades ago. He was still a very young lad back then. Like the two of you, he once visited me here. My son Hiroshi was acquainted with him, you see. Mr Pratt took an interest in the history of the Yamate neighbourhood and Yokohama. Of course, my son and I showed him around. Mr Pratt promised to return the favour. It took a while, but we visited him a few decades later..."

Gene smiled.

"It's nice to see how friendships can last so long."

Suzuki nodded.

"My visit happened to coincide with a little gathering at his estate."

"Gathering?"

"A gathering of those interested in parapsychology," Suzuki said. "I didn't want to intrude, so I suggested another date. But Mr Pratt insisted on my presence. I was fairly interested, so I caved in and took up his offer."

He turned the page.

"Ah, Mr Pratt himself took this picture. We were at a lake near his home."

It was a photo of Suzuki and a young Japanese man. Both of them grinned and had fishing rods in their hands.

"Is this Hiroshi-san?"

"Oh no. This is Mr Pratt's acquaintance who volunteered as my interpreter. My English was and still isn't up to par as I'd like. Hiroshi was quite relieved. The paranormal terminology went over his head. I was grateful for his exemplary interpretation. Unfortunately, his name escapes me."

Suzuki excitedly showed Gene more photos of his fishing trip. He pointed out a picture with Hiroshi. Gene nodded enthusiastically and asked more questions about the place.

Noll was starting to get bored of the old man's ramblings. He tuned out of the conversation and stared at the other side of the room.

At that moment the maid returned with two glasses of iced tea. She placed them on the table.

"There were many more interesting fellows at that gathering... Some members of the American Society for Psychical Research were there too..."

"Huh, that's Sir Dorey."

That caught his interest. Noll leaned forward. He didn't recognize the other faces, but the old man beside Mr Pratt was clearly Sir Dorey.

"He was the only other guest who came from abroad." Suzuki said. "Is he still...?"

Gene smiled.

"He's still alive."

Suzuki widened his eyes. "Then he must be over ninety years old! Well, well..."

Noll sipped from the iced tea.

( _Gene, get him to talk about the case._ )

( _I was about to._ )

"Um, Suzuki-san. Could you tell us -"

Suzuki clasped his hands together.

"Yes," he said. "You'd like to get straight to business, don't you?"

The twins nodded.

"It's about the living quarters of my deceased uncle, Watanabe Keizo. The youngest sibling of my mother's family. My uncle was childless and my family took care of him until he passed away four years ago," Suzuki said. "Strange things have been happening there. Nothing harmful, but just odd."

"I see."

I could have summoned a priest or monk, but there was something I wanted to confirm. I consulted with Mr Pratt, and he told me about you, Eugene."

"What is it that you need to confirm?" Gene asked.

Suzuki sighed.

"Whether these happenings are truly caused by uncle... and if so, I'd like to ask him where he placed the portrait of my mother."

"Your mother?"

"She passed away a decade ago," he said. "Now you probably want to know why I didn't ask when he was still alive. Well, the good old man turned senile and didn't remember it no matter how many times I asked. So I'd like to attempt once more..."

He grinned a little.

Gene nodded with a pensive look. "Alright, I understand."

Noll leaned back into the couch.

"What happens in his living quarters?"

"At first I found faint scribbles on the wall, and fallen pencils on the floor… After I placed a white canvas in the room, I started to find the drawings there. The drawings are indecipherable and… very irregular. My eldest son's family live here, but they claim they have never been in my uncle's living quarters."

"What about his children? Is there any chance of them pulling a prank?" Noll asked.

Suzuki shook his head.

"They're already in their twenties and very respectful of my uncle," he said. "In fact, as of this summer all children moved away. These incidents still happen."

"I think I know enough. Can we take a look?"

Suzuki nodded.

They followed him to a detached building next to the mansion.

"My uncle used to live and work in this atelier," Suzuki said before opening the door.

Gene stopped immediately in the doorway.

"Do you see something?" Noll asked.

"Yeah, I see an elderly man. …He has a long face and a beard."

"What about his hair?" Suzuki asked.

"He's bald."

Suzuki smiled a little.

"That's him."

"Ah, he noticed us," Gene said. "I'll ask the question then."

Gene moved forward.

"Hello, Watanabe-san."

He stopped in front of the canvas which was covered with scribbles of coloured pencils.

"You are already dead. Did you know that?"

Noll and Suzuki quietly watched.

"Um, before you go... Your nephew... Yoshinori-san has a question about the portrait of your sister."

Gene turned around, slightly embarrassed.

"What's your mother's name? I forgot to ask."

"Oh, her name was Hatsu."

"He's looking for the portrait of Hatsu-san."

Gene looked toward a door on the other side of the room.

"Okay."

Then he turned his head to Watanabe.

"Yes, I'll tell your nephew."

Gene turned to Suzuki.

"The portrait is somewhere in the attic, in the place where Watanabe-san placed all of his failures. It's a messy place, so you'll have to look very hard."

Suzuki blinked.

"The attic! Yes, he placed all of his failures there... I didn't think that the portrait would be among them! Mother didn't consider it a failure, so she thought it happened to be somewhere in the archive."

"Yeah, he also said that she liked it very much," Gene said and smiled a little. "And he asked me to tell you, 'Thanks for taking care of me. You did a good job.'"

Suzuki became visibly emotional.

"...I see. Thank you..."

The elderly man turned his face away.

Gene stared at the canvas.

"Watanabe-san went away. He thought he got better, but didn't realize he passed away."

"Is that so..." Suzuki said.

Noll turned to him.

"Shall we take a look in the attic?"

* * *

 **Kyoto, August 2006**

The next morning, they travelled to Kyoto, their next destination.

Noll stared out of the window as he watched Yokohama pass by out of his sight.

"Oh man, that restaurant was incredible. I can't wait to show these to Lin."

Noll turned to seat next to him.

Gene grinned as he scrolled through some photos on his camera.

After the purification, Gene and Noll went up to the attic together with Suzuki. The attic was full of paintings and artworks by Watanabe. After a few hours of searching they found the portrait. What they found was an unfinished painting of Suzuki's mother in her younger days.

Suzuki was very pleased and offered a dinner at his favourite Chinese restaurants out of gratitude. Apparently it was the oldest Chinese restaurant in Japan, but for some reason it wasn't among Lin's list of recommendations. They quickly discovered why Lin didn't list it when they arrived at the restaurant itself. Neither Noll or Gene were prepared for the over-the-top service and the lavish interior. The prices of the dinner courses were... impressive to say the least. Of course, Suzuki paid for everything. On top of that, the man appeared to be a regular as the waiters seemed to know him.

After an uneventful trip with the Shinkansen, they checked in at their hotel.

In the afternoon Gene took Noll to one of the many temples in the city. First, they passed by the Kamo river where someone took a commemorative photo for them. After a lot of sweating and walking, they resumed their walk to the Sanjusangendo temple. The temple was famous for having 1001 statues of Kanon. It was an impressive sight.

Gene whispered to him after they exited the temple.

"This girl was staring at us."

 _Not this again._

"Many people were looking at us," Noll dryly responded. "It's nothing new."

Gene put a hand to his mouth, and nervously looked away.

"No, it's just this particular girl with long black hair. I think I've seen her before in Tokyo," he said. "It must be her. I can _feel_ it in my bones."

The way Gene said only made the issue seem even more ridiculous.

"Really."

Noll looked away, but Gene grabbed his t-shirt.

"Don't you trust my intuition?"

Noll ignored him.

It's not like he didn't understand.

They were twins _and_ handsome. Noll felt like he was a mobile tourist attraction. It hadn't been too bad back in England, but it was worse in Japan. Their looks were _very_ popular here, he had come to notice. Noll really disliked the attention it brought to them. Also, for some reason, the fact that they were foreign and able to speak Japanese and English soared their popularity to the sky. It was simply ridiculous, Noll thought, but it couldn't be helped.

Perhaps all that attention was too much. Even for Gene.

"Where do we go now?" Noll said, eager to change the subject.

"It's getting late already. Let's head downtown."

Luckily, Gene was sufficiently distracted by the shops with trinkets and souvenirs for the rest of the day. After arriving downtown, they sat down at the bank along the Kamo river. Noll took the opportunity to cool his feet in the shallow water channel under the suspended balcony platforms. Gene enthusiastically snapped plenty of pictures of the cafes and crowded bridge.

After this short break, they went into the shopping area and eventually ended up waiting in line at a udon restaurant called Marugame Seimen. It was located in one of the busy streets in Kyoto. The prices seemed reasonable and there was only a short queue in front of them.

While waiting, Noll caught Gene staring at crowds roaming the busy street.

"Gene."

He stared back.

"What is it? Another stalker?" Noll said.

"I'm telling you. It's definitely a girl."

Noll let out an exasperated sigh.

"Girls follow us all the time."

"I know, but..."

Noll sighed again.

"Gene. Stop thinking about girls for a moment."

"Right."

They finally arrived at the counter.

Luckily there were enough vegetarian choices, so Noll didn't have to worry about it too much. They watched as the chefs prepared their chosen meals in front of them.

Gene took the standing seats near the wall on the opposite side of the cashier.

Noll sat down. He had chosen cold udon topped with fried bean curd, with dipping sauce and vegetable tempura.

"I don't remember having udon like this before," Gene said. He stared down at his hot udon with meat and burdock toppings.

Noll noticed a leaflet on the table and attentively read it. As Kyoto was a touristic destination, it also had English instructions on how to prepare and eat the udon properly. Unfortunately, not many restaurants provided English menus, but they were able to get by with asking other people to read it for them.

They ate in silence.

"How are you liking Japan so far, Noll?"

Noll was halfway through his meal when Eugene asked this.

Gene was fishing for something, Noll sensed. Is this about what they talked about a week ago? He decided to return a simple reply.

"It's just another country."

Noll felt his stare on him.

"Hmph. You could sound a bit more excited," Gene said. Then he bit into a vegetable tempura and chewed.

They went silent again and resumed eating their meals.

"What time are we leaving tomorrow?" Noll said, after he finished eating.

They would visit a spiritualist who lived in the south of Kyoto. He was an old acquaintance of Madoka. Gene had been interested in old exorcism techniques and apparently this man was an expert.

"Let's see. How about noon? We can sleep in." Gene grinned. "Or we could go early and grab a matcha parfait nearby before we pay our best man a visit."

Noll resisted to roll his eyes. He was beginning to regret leaving the planning to his twin.

* * *

 **Nagano, August 2006**

The heat was getting to him.

After leaving Kyoto and subsequently the Kansai region, Noll and Gene slowly traveled their way to Nagano prefecture. They met with various spiritualists ranging from monks, shinto priests and various other folks. Gene found them all very interesting people to various degrees. It was a hassle to get to places, but Noll tried not to complain. As long as Gene enjoyed the trip and didn't get into any trouble, like dying and ending up at the bottom of a lake somehow, Noll was fine with the arrangement.

However, today the humid heat was suffocating and on top of that they had taken the wrong turn. Noll wearily stared at the pavement as he walked behind Gene. The greenery around them shaded them from the sun every once in a while, but it wasn't enough. His thought strayed to the near-empty bottle in his backpack. They were on a relatively obscure route in the mountains and there seemed to be no sight of civilization for a while. He stared at Gene who slowly walked in front of him. Since he wasn't keen on slathering his arms with sticky sun protection cream, Gene wore a light jacket which he had borrowed from Noll. He probably had to be sweating hard right now. Noll stared at his own arms. So far he didn't get burned anywhere. The sun protection was doing its job.

Gene stopped, and Noll took the opportunity to lean against a large rock in a grassy patch. He turned his head and watched the frown on Gene's face. His lips had curled in frustration. They had been going at it like this for a half hour. Gene got them lost and didn't want to hear any of it.

Gene looked down at the map in his hands.

Noll heard him mumbling.

"If I'm not mistaken the fastest way to get there is..."

He pointed towards a road a little ahead of them. Next to the road there was a paved footpath.

"Are you sure about this?"

His mouth felt dry.

"Yes."

Gene sounded irritated.

Impatient.

Noll was sure of it now. Luella and Martin had been far too trusting to let two teenagers loose in a country they'd never been before. He didn't even want to think of how it would have passed if Gene had gone alone. At least they planned to return to Tokyo the next day, then the worst part would be over. But that thought made him lose hope of ever finding the lake in the vision.

If he didn't see it today, would he feel disappointed? What if the route Gene would have taken alone was different from the one they were traveling now? No, it hadn't been a waste of time. He didn't dislike it here. Perhaps he didn't feel the same as Gene, but -

"Come on."

Gene watched him with tired eyes.

Noll sighed and got away from the large rock. He followed after his brother. There was very little water left in their bottles, so he hoped they would reach the camp site soon, or at least find a shop to buy bottled water. They didn't have much cash on them either, so finding an ATM was of importance as well.

After five minutes of walking, they stumbled upon a problem.

Ahead of them the paved path split into a narrow footpath along the road, and steep staircase leading towards presumably a village. A few meters away from the forked path, there was a bus stop. A teenaged girl with pigtails sat on the bench, reading a book and waiting for the next bus to come.

The brown-haired girl looked up as she noticed them approaching. She wore large round glasses. The twins nodded at her in greeting, and she nodded back. Then the girl went back to reading the book in her hands. She seemed a little younger than them.

"What do we do?" Noll asked Gene. "Take the bus?"

"I said it before, it's better if we save the money for a place at the camp site and some good food."

"You're being ridiculous."

"We don't have enough."

Noll sighed. This was going to take a long time. He sat down next to the girl on the bench. The sound of cicadas buzzed in his ears. They sounded awfully loud for some reason. It irritated him.

"Noll?"

"I'm tired. Give me a break."

"Ten minutes."

Predictably, Gene started talking to the girl.

"Hey. Are you traveling too?" he asked with a smile.

"I'm waiting for my bus to come," she said.

"Oh. So you're from around here."

The girl didn't reply to that. His charms were apparently wasted on her.

"Um, when's the next bus?"

She looked up and frowned at him.

 _Why didn't Gene just look at the schedule behind her?_ Noll thought.

"I just missed the bus. It won't come for another hour."

"Well, that's a pity. Let's walk." Gene checked the map again. "It really isn't far anymore. The fastest way is along the road."

Noll eyed the narrow pathway for a while. It seemed very dangerous. On the other hand, the staircase would probably exhaust them, not to mention that they'd probably have to get down at some point.

"You're impatient," Noll said. Reckless, he had wanted to say.

"Like I said, I'd like to get there before it gets dark," Gene muttered. "I'll get bothered if we lose our way up there in the mountains."

Noll knew what he meant. Gene wanted to avoid any mountain spirits lingering around. When it turned dark, and that probably would be in the next three hours, it could get dangerous. If Gene ended up channeling a dangerous spirit, it could potentially get them into trouble without having any other support.

"Where do you need to go?" The girl suddenly asked.

"To the camp site... it's this one." Gene pointed out a place on the map. "I was thinking of following the road to get there."

"You shouldn't go that way," the girl said. "It's not meant for pedestrians."

"Ah~, you too. I was hoping from some local advice."

Noll twitched his eyebrow.

"That _is_ local advice. Just listen to her."

"Since when are you taking advice from people."

"I'd rather take advice from others than from you," Noll said. "You insist on doing things on your own, and yet you can't read a map properly."

Anger flashed in Gene's eyes.

"…Stop nagging! I'm not going up there just for you."

His voice hurt his ears.

"Stop yelling."

Gene turned.

"You know what, I'll go alone. See you at the campsite, Noll."

He headed towards the narrow pathway.

"Gene," Noll said, rising from the bench. "It's too dangerous."

He wasn't listening.

( _Shut it, Noll._ )

Noll heaved a deep sigh and sat down again. He was too exhausted to run after him. The heat really got to him.

"...You should stop him," the girl said and looked at him.

He closed his eyes and put a hand to his forehead. Dizzy.

"Mind your own business."

His voice was weak.

The girl didn't respond immediately, but after a pause she closed her book.

"Then I'll go get him. Please hold my book."

Her voice was decisive. The girl thrust the book into Noll's lap without asking him. Then she ran off. Noll grabbed the book from his lap to put it on the bench, finding it a bother. It was a careless move. He had not been prepared to sync into a vision.

 _She is in a moving vehicle - a van. Next to her is the driver who is a young man with a cornrow haircut. The van stops. They smile at each other. Then he drops the girl off at this bus stop._

Noll looked down at his feet again. He had dropped the book from his hands.

 _What did that mean?_

"Noll?"

Noll raised his face and gazed back at an identical pair of eyes.

"...she said that you didn't look well."

Gene looked worried.

A weak smirk crossed his face.

"...You only noticed just now?"

Gene looked down at his feet.

"I... sorry, I was too caught up with reading the map."

He actually sounded guilty for once.

Noll sighed. "It's fine."

They heard a cough.

"Um. It's best if you go into the village and cool off there," the girl suggested, picking up the fallen book and putting it into her shoulder bag.

Gene nodded.

"Yeah, we'll do that. Come on, Noll."

He helped Noll up from the seat. Noll was about to protest, but his knees felt weak.

"By the way, thanks for looking out for my brother. What's your name?"

The girl looked back at him.

"Saitou Mayumi. Just call me Mayumi."

Gene smiled. "I'm Gene. This is my brother Oliver. You can call him Noll."

Mayumi raised an eyebrow.

"You're not Japanese?"

"We're of Japanese descent, but live in England."

She hummed.

"I see. You speak Japanese well."

"We can't read or write though."

They walked the staircase. After a while they reached the top, reaching a small village. It was exhausting as expected.

"I think you can rest at the store over there."

Mayumi pointed at a small store close to the staircase.

The trio walked into the shop's direction.

The shop appeared to be frequented by tourists who walked the routes in the area. The owner was an old man. Mayumi talked to the man, and was able to convince him to give Noll some space inside to cool off. Gene bought bottled water and some snacks to eat.

Noll lied down and closed his eyes. It was nice and cool in the shade.

In the meanwhile, Gene struck up a conversation with Mayumi in the store. Noll could hear parts of their conversation, but he quickly dozed off.

It was a peaceful and dreamless sleep.

Then Gene sat in front of him, sipping on a bottle of water. Noll blinked. How long has he been out?

"Gene."

"Ah Noll, are you okay?"

He handed to bottle to Noll.

"Better ...What time is it?"

Gene sighed.

"Let's just say we missed the bus."

Noll turned his head and saw Mayumi leaning against the other wall with her book in hand.

Gene wryly smiled.

"While you were asleep I tried convincing Mayumi to go back to the bus stop, but she wouldn't leave your side."

Mayumi shrugged.

"Well, I feel bad about leaving an unwell person behind."

Gene obviously flinched at her comment. Noll couldn't help but smirk a little.

"Don't you have homework or something?" Gene bit back.

She blankly gazed down at him.

"No worries. I finished my summer homework yesterday."

Gene grumbled a little before going silent. Noll knocked on Gene's 'door'.

( _Did I miss anything while I was asleep?_ )

( _...Nothing much_.)

His sour face told him otherwise.

( _So something did happen?_ )

( _No. It's just that Mayumi doesn't seem to like me..._ )

( _Well, you didn't leave a good impression on her._ )

Gene rolled his eyes.

( _You don't have to spell it out for me, Noll._ )

Then he stretched his arms out.

"Ah, I guess we'll have to take the bus. For the wellbeing of my younger brother!"

Mayumi ignored him.

Noll couldn't help but bring his palm to his face. _What an idiot._

"When will the bus arrive?" Noll asked.

"A little less than an hour," Mayumi replied as she turned a page in her book. She still intended to ignore Gene.

A phone rang. The old man took a call.

Noll heard Gene's voice again.

( _Do you have any cash on you?_ )

He frowned. Noll wasn't sure why Gene was using telepathy.

( _Only 200 yen._ )

( _Enough for a bus ticket, I suppose._ )

( _How about you? You didn't spend too much on the food, didn't you?_ )

Gene looked away from him.

Apparently Gene wasn't keen on embarrassing himself more than once in front of Mayumi, Noll wryly thought.

( _Gene._ )

( _I have 700 yen._ )

( _...And how much did the camp site cost?_ )

( _Don't ask me Noll. Please._ )

( _You are an idiot._ )

( _Said the person who nearly collapsed._ )

( _Said the person who left his unwell twin behind._ )

At that moment, the store owner approached them.

"Err, I got bad news for you, young'uns. A road accident happened up ahead. I'm sorry to say the way's blocked off so the busses won't pass here anymore."

Gene made a face and Noll sighed. _How unfortunate..._

Mayumi closed her book.

"I suppose we'll have to take the path through the forest, then?"

"That's right," Noll said.

"Isn't there somewhere we can stay around here for the night?" Gene asked, staring at Noll. "I mean, are you really okay?"

"I'm fine," Noll insisted. "I can walk."

"Well, my son-in-law runs a small inn a bit further down the road, but it's currently full. 't is high season after all. Another option is the ryokan... But..." The old man sheepishly looked at them. "...it might be expensive."

"Pass," Noll said.

"I can't stay here," Mayumi said. "I have to get home."

"You might make it to the next village before night falls if you walk now," the shop owner said. "The route isn't too bad."

He searched for something on the front desk and gave Mayumi a map with walking routes.

"Just follow this route," he said, pointing it out on the map.

"Thank you very much."

"We'll go together," Noll said. "Right?"

Gene nodded uneasily.

"...Yeah."

* * *

After thanking the shop owner, the trio headed into the forest.

Mayumi walked ahead of them with the map in her hands.

Gene fidgeted beside Noll. He hadn't been pleased when Noll took his map into his hands. Not to mention he was worried about going into a forest, where the spirits of those who went lost in the mountains may roam. Noll wasn't particularly worried. If they made it before night fell, it was unlikely that they would stumble upon a 'mountain spirit'. If any troubles came up, he would try to deal with it right then and there. Right now, Gene was being too impulsive and reckless.

Noll stared at the map. He hadn't looked closely at it before, but there was a lake right next to the campsite -.

Suddenly, Mayumi stopped and turned around to look at Gene.

"I've been meaning to ask you, but... Are you afraid of the dark?"

Gene laughed nervously.

"Well, some wild animal might jump out of the bushes and I really don't care for that... It happened before and I've been scared ever since."

He was lying out of his teeth.

Mayumi blinked.

"I see."

Then she resumed to walk.

Gene switched the topic.

"How about you? Isn't it like dangerous?"

"Dangerous? How?"

"Well, for one thing you're walking with two boys you don't know..."

Mayumi huffed a little.

"I know how to defend myself if you were worried about that."

"Oh? Like martial arts?"

"Something like that," she said. "I'm somewhat familiar with judo and kendo."

"Kendo? That's pretty cool," Gene said. "I've always wanted to do something like that."

Mayumi seemed to perk up at that. She briefly turned to look at him.

"Oh really?"

In the meanwhile, Noll tuned out their conversation and looked to the side. Somewhere in the far distance, between the trees, he could make out the sky and the greenery from the mountain on the opposite side. The sky was no longer a bright blue. Orange hues tinted the horizon.

His attention went to Mayumi's shoulder bag.

That psychometric vision was somewhat odd. Why had she been dropped off at that bus stop? Wouldn't it have been better if that man had taken her to the next village?

Noll sighed. It was probably none of his business.

Gradually, their path slanted into an open space with no trees. They found a bench with an outlook over the valley. They were close to the roadway. The first hint was the smoke trailing towards the sky between the trees.

"Is that the site of the accident?" Gene asked.

"Probably."

Noll looked at the map. It had happened on the road Gene wanted to take.

They blinked when Gene proceeded to step on the bench.

He narrowed his eyes.

"…I see a bus over there."

Mayumi widened her eyes in shock. "You don't think it got caught up in the accident?"

He peered very long at the sight.

"The smoke isn't coming from the bus."

Noll folded his arms.

"Then it's something else?"

"I can't tell from here."

Noll sighed.

"Noll!" he suddenly yelled out.

"What?"

Gene pointed towards something in the distance. He could see something glittering down the valley.

"Over there! It's the lake! We're almost there."

The lake. A sinking feeling overcame him.

"It's still faraway..." Gene whined.

"Let's hurry then," Mayumi said.

After fifteen minutes of walking on a thankfully flat path, Gene slowed his pace. They were walking in a somewhat darker area surrounded by tall trees.

( _Noll!_ )

( _Now what?_ )

( _I see something out there!_ )

He frowned.

( _Is it dangerous?_ )

( _I don't know._ )

( _Don't pay attention. Pretend you don't see it._ )

( _It's blocking the way, Noll. I can't unsee it._ )

Gene stopped. Mayumi and Noll simultaneously turned to look at him.

"You look pale. Is something bothering you?" Mayumi asked.

"It's no-nothing," Gene nervously insisted.

"Are you sure?" She threw him an accusative expression.

Even Mayumi seemed to have lost her patience.

"Not really…" Gene admitted.

She gave an exasperated sigh. "Should I hold your hand then?"

For one horrifying moment Noll thought he would accept the offer, but Gene shook his head vehemently. Fortunately, he still had some pride.

"Ah, no. I'm okay!" Gene insisted.

"Alright then."

Mayumi walked ahead of them.

( _She passed right through the ghost!_ )

She proceeded without noticing anything.

( _Seems like it's harmless to her at least._ ) Noll looked at his twin. ( _You go first._ )

After some fidgeting Gene went ahead. Nothing happened.

Noll followed him.

( _What was it exactly?_ )

( _A tree spirit, I think. Never seen one up close like that._ )

( _Interesting._ )

From then on, they mostly walked in silence with some occasional one-sided conversation with Mayumi.

It took less than half an hour to reach the village. The campsite wasn't faraway anymore.

When they arrived, Mayumi typed in a message on her phone. Her phoned beeped right away.

"They're coming to pick me up," she announced.

"Your parents?"

Mayumi shrugged, and said: "Thanks for walking together with me."

"Oh no, we should thank you~. By the way, can I have your phone number? We should totally meet up again," Gene said with a cheerful voice.

Noll couldn't help but roll his eyes. Why was he still trying again?

Mayumi knit her eyebrows, briefly glancing at Noll's exasperated face before returning her attention to Gene again.

"…Are you asking me on a date?"

"Uh maybe?"

"Sorry, I'll have to decline. You're not my type, besides I already have someone I like."

Noll watched Gene's expression crumble.

"...Oh."

Mayumi opened her shoulder bag, and took out the book she had been reading.

"But I can offer you this book in consolation. You could use it to improve your Japanese."

She pushed it into Gene's hands. He took the book, completely bewildered.

"What..."

"Well then, goodbye."

Mayumi turned and walked off.

"Uh yeah."

The twins muttered their goodbyes. They stood in the same spot for a while, watching her leave.

Noll shifted his glance to Gene. Gene stared into the distance with a forlorn expression.

"I messed up. Worst rejection ever."

Noll was tempted to make a snappy comment, but he wisely kept it to himself.

Gene groaned.

"Seriously, what's with the consolation prize...?"

They looked down at the book. The cover illustration featured a school girl with pigtails. Behind her there stood two school boys who had their backs turned to her. In front of them was a giant clock. Apparently they were in a science room.

"Let's go, Gene."

They followed the signs to the campsite.

Their feet stopped in front of the small office building. To the left of the campsite was a lake with a dam.

It was enormous.

"Finally, we found it." Gene let out a deep sigh. "Isn't it amazing?"

Noll stared out at the lake. He sighted a boardwalk with several small boats in the distance.

He unconsciously grabbed the hem of his shirt.

 _It's here, isn't?_

He'd imagined it more sombre, but even at this time of the day people were playing on rafts and swimming in the water. Earlier on the day there had to be even more people on the beach side.

"Noll?"

He looked to the side. There was a warm smile on Gene's face.

"I'd like to take a swim in it," he said. "How about tomorrow, Noll?"

Noll grimaced.

"Go by yourself."

* * *

The cool air from the air conditioning in the reception building of the campsite brought Noll relief.

A man behind a front desk greeted them. He seemed to be in his late thirties.

"Welcome! How may I help you?"

Gene got straight to the point.

"Hello. We'd like to stay the night here…"

"Just the two of you?"

They nodded.

The man pointed at the board in front of him.

"We have an empty spot for 1000 yen a night. Renting a tent will cost a little more. The price includes the use of common facilities."

Noll turned towards Gene with a murderous glare. He was ready to dump him some place where no one could find him.

Gene shot him apologetic look.

( _I am so sorry._ )

"Is there a problem?" The man asked, frowning slightly.

Gene responded with a nervous laugh.

"…Well, we don't have that money on us right now… Could you please tell us where the nearest ATM for international money is?"

"There is a convenience store a few streets away. It's not far from here," the man said. He took a brochure and pointed on the map inside of it. "Feel free to take this with you."

Gene took the brochure.

"Thank you very much!" Then he looked at Noll. "Okay, let's go."

"No, you go."

"What?"

Noll sighed, putting his backpack down.

"It was your fault in the first place. Pay for it."

"Damn it," Gene said. "I'm dead tired…"

Noll sat down on a chair by the wall and folded his arms.

"Buy food for tonight and tomorrow morning while you're there."

Gene groaned.

"Fine."

"Don't forget the natto onigiri."

His eyebrows twitched.

"Noll, I swear..."

Gene put his backpack next to Noll's chair. He left the book on a coffee table in front of him.

"I'll leave the book here. Be right back."

Noll sighed when Gene left.

It had been a very long day.

He leaned his head against the wall behind him, closing his eyes.

That lake had caught him by surprise.

His memory of that particular vision had been very clear. It was the very same lake. There was no way around it, he had to admit.

Gene was supposed to die on this day.

This was cemented by the fact that Gene planned on leaving for Tokyo tomorrow. This location shouldn't be far from a train station, so it did have to happen on this day. Going by his observations and the news about the road incident, Gene would most likely have died on that road. But that didn't explain why they went through the trouble of wrapping him in sheets and dumping his body in the lake.

During this week they visited various people. It all started with Madoka's acquaintance, and then they kept being referred to other people. Some by chance encounters. They had just returned from visiting an old Shinto priest in this area, because someone had recommended him. In other words, it would have taken a lot of trouble to search for Gene's body without proper knowledge of his schedule.

Noll remembered his own face in that vision. He had visibly grown older and taller. It was almost crazy to think that Gene wouldn't grow in the same way.

 _If I hadn't gone with him…_

He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

 _I could have lost him._

Noll looked down. His hands trembled slightly.

 _It's over. It doesn't matter anymore. Everything is fine now._

He let out a deep breath, then moved his gaze to the book on the table.

No, something still bothered him.

Hidden in plain sight.

 _If that girl had been there._

If that girl - Saitou Mayumi - was at the bus stop in the first place, she would have prevented Gene from walking that road. Going by her personality she wouldn't have backed down. …and knowing Gene's rather unfortunate soft spot for girls, he would at least have taken her advice by either taking the bus or doing the mountain trek with her.

"Are you okay?"

The voice took him out of his thoughts. The man came from behind the counter.

"You don't look well."

"I'm tired… it's been a long day."

"Alright then, if you say so," the man said, then after a pause he added: "My name is Nakata, by the way. Just call me if you need help."

Noll bowed slightly.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

Nakata turned to move back to the counter. Noll blinked, remembering the book on the table.

"I have a question."

Nakata stopped.

"Yes?"

Noll pointed at the item on the coffee table.

"What's the title of this book?"

Nakata stared down at the cover with a frown.

"Ah, this is a well-known book. _The Girl Who Leapt Through Time_. I've read in high school once. This must be a new edition."

"I see."

"You can't read Japanese?" Nakata asked.

"No, we never learned to read Japanese," Noll replied.

"Oh, that's right. You're from abroad..." he said. "Well, an animated movie based on it came out recently, but I heard the story is not the same as the original. …Anyway, the book is about a girl who jumps back into time to save people."

Noll widened his eyes. _No way, it couldn't be..._

At that moment the phone rang.

"Ah, excuse me I have to take the call. It might be news about the accident."

Nakata ran back to the front desk and took the call.

"This is Nakata from the camp site. ..."

Then he talked loudly to the person on the other side.

Instead of listening in, Noll moved his gaze to the book.

A man had dropped Mayumi off at the bus stop. It did seem suspicious at the time. Why drop her off at the bus stop if he could have easily taken to her own home by himself?

He reached out his hand, grabbed the book and closed his eyes.

 _Focus._

The pull on the book was light.

 _A deteriorating building in the mountain._

 _Two boys enter. Gene and himself. The door closes on its own._

 _He sees himself trying to open the door. Gene throws a chair at the window. It doesn't break._

 _They're trapped._

 _Classrooms. Black fish tanks. A collar. A pile of fur and bones._

The vision ended. Noll opened his eyes.

At the same moment Nakata put the phone down and sighed.

"Goodness."

"What happened?" Noll asked.

"A road racer. The driver was a woman in her 30s. It seemed like she was gravely injured after a collision against a tree. A bus was the first vehicle to come across the scene," Nakata said and grimaced. "My wife happened to be on it. She said it wasn't a pretty sight."

"...I see."

Noll looked down at the book in his hands. If that woman drove on that road they were walking on…

As if able to read his mind, Nakata said: "That road is really dangerous for pedestrians. There's been quite a few accidents with idiots who walk on the side of that road. Luckily, no one died so far."

The door violently swung open right at that moment.

"Noll!"

Noll nearly jumped out of his skin at the agitated voice.

Gene had returned.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

Gene made it out alive! Please tell me you're as happy as I am. But what happened at the end? Any guesses? :P

J.C. Pratt was mentioned in the short story 'His Reality' as one of Noll's financial supporters, along with the Londenberg Foundation and Mr Mayer.

I used Heichinrou Yokohama as the model for the Chinese restaurant described in this fic, but I didn't actually go there since it's quite expensive... I did go to Marugame Seimen Kawaramachi Sanjo, a udon chain restaurant. It was pretty good and cheap. I don't know if they had English-language leaflets in 2006 though.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a 1967 novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, but you might be more familiar with the animation film of the same name directed by Mamoru Hosoda. The film was released on July 15, 2006. A new paperback book edition was released shortly before that. I described the illustrated cover in this chapter.


	7. Alive

**Chapter 6: Alive**

 **Nagano, August 2006**

Gene stumbled into the reception area and planted his hands on his knees. He gasped for air.

"What happened?" Noll said, rising from the chair.

Gene raised his head.

"It didn't work! That cashpoint wouldn't take my card!" He blurted out.

Noll turned to look back at Nakata, who stood next to him with an incredulous expression.

"…And you were certain it could take international cards?"

Nakata scratched the back of his head with a difficult expression.

"Not quite... We hardly have any international visitors coming over here, to tell you the truth."

Noll sighed. They were in the middle of a rural area in Nagano after all.

"Are there any other alternatives?"

The man folded his arms.

"I would send you to the ATM in the post office nearby, but it's already past closing hours. Otherwise, I could have taken you to the next nearest convenience store, but unfortunately the road is blocked now," Nakata said, taking the road incident into account.

Gene stared at the receptionist.

"What about the train station? It shouldn't be far from here, right?"

"A little less than half an hour by car due to traffic jams," Nakata replied.

Gene groaned.

"That can't be."

Noll put his free hand on his forehead, tapping lightly against it with a finger.

"That will be a problem..."

"Um, how much do you have on you if I may ask?" Nakata asked.

"900 yen in total," Noll said, running his hand through his hair.

The man grimaced. "That isn't much..."

Gene dropped down on a chair and whined.

"Argh, I'm tired and hungry! Worst day ever!"

"...It could have been worse," Noll muttered flatly.

Gene stared at him with a frown, then his eyes went down to Mayumi's book.

"Wait!"

He pried the book out of Noll's hand, got up and walked up to Nakata with a wide smile.

"How about I'll give you this book in exchange for money?"

Nakata put on a displeased expression at this suggestion.

"I told your brother I read the book already..."

" _Pleeeease_. You could sell it for more. It's brand new."

Nakata frowned.

"It's only a paperback. It won't cost much more than 500 yen, I estimate."

"Seriously?"

He held out a hand.

"Give me that book. The price should be written on the back cover." Nakata pointed out a number on the back. "See? It's only 438 yen excluding tax!"

However, Gene didn't give up.

"But if you round that up a little, it's just enough for one night~" He said with a wink.

Nakata didn't take it too well and put a foot down.

"Young man!" he said, glaring at Gene. "We do not haggle around here."

This man seemed to have a short fuse, so Noll interrupted.

"Excuse me."

Gene and Nakata turned to look at him.

"Yes?" Nakata said.

"Are there any abandoned buildings around here?"

"Abandoned?" Gene said, knitting his eyebrows together

They stared at him for a moment. However, Nakata looked a strangely uneasy. His jaw lowered.

"So there is one?" Noll said, gazing intensely at the man.

"Well... There is an old elementary school building. It was closed about three years ago…"

His voice trailed off.

"Are there any rumours about it?"

"Rumours, such as?"

"Hauntings."

Nakata's face froze.

"No..." He shook his head. "Why do you ask?"

Noll smiled a little, and briefly glanced at a confused Gene.

"Just asking. Perhaps it would be nice to spend a night there."

Nakata scowled.

"...Hey, you better not sleep there."

Noll shrugged. "At least we'll have a roof over our head."

The receptionist's face grew red.

"...Damn it, alright. I'll ask my boss," Nakata said, and left through the backdoor.

Gene gave him a look.

( _I didn't know you were keen on ghost hunting. Homesick?_ )

Noll shrugged. ( _Not particularly._ )

Gene sighed.

( _We could have asked him to drive to us to the train station instead_.)

( _I know, but who would go with him?_ )

Gene grimaced.

( _I can't be arsed to do so. I'm knackered_.)

( _Same._ )

Soon enough, Nakata returned with a middle-aged woman.

"This is my boss, Kobayashi-san."

Her eyes glittered when she saw the twin brothers.

"Oh my."

Noll stared at his brother.

( _The floor is yours._ )

Gene put on a pleasant smile, and proceeded to tell the woman a sob story.

About his poor younger brother Noll who fainted on the way to the campsite. How he carried Noll up to the store in Village A. How he begged the store owner for a space to rest. How they ran out of money, because he wanted to take great care of Noll by giving him something to eat and to drink. How he gently guided his brother through the mountain forest to Village B because the road was blocked. Gene claimed this was a true story which could be verified by the old man in the store in Village A.

It was completely exaggerated in Gene's favour, but it worked. Not to mention the sight of two cute twin brothers had swayed the heart of the woman. Gene was a great charmer and an even better liar, so Noll could always count on him for taking care of those kind of things.

"Oh poor you~ I'm not letting two boys sleep on the road after such a rough day~ I'll give the book for my granddaughter. We watched the film in the cinema last week and we absolutely loved it!"

Behind her Nakata groaned.

"We don't need to do this!" He protested, flailing his arms as if to make a point. "I could bring them to the ATM at the train station today."

His boss looked him straight in the eye.

"That's a matter for tomorrow!" Kobayashi insisted, and gesturing a hand in the direction of Noll and Gene. "These boys look tired, and they've been through enough for today. Children need to be taken care of. Look at how pale and skinny they are!"

Noll resisted an eyeroll. They always looked like this.

In the end, Nakata begrudgingly agreed to giving them a spot at the campsite. The twins handed over the book and their last yen to Kobayashi.

Gene smirked a little.

( _It's a good thing Mayumi gave us that book_.)

( _Yeah..._ )

In the next hour, they proceeded to set up their place not too far away from the reception building. They even managed to get a tent and two mats, because Kobayashi took pity on them (the woman seemed to be very fond of children). They slowly managed to set it up. After that they laid down on their mats for at least half an hour.

It wasn't until Gene started to whine for food that Noll woke up for a short moment. Gene got up and left. The faint smell of barbeque meat and sauces entered his nose.

Noll groaned and rolled over.

If their parents knew about their penniless state, they'd never hear the end of it.

He closed his eyes once again and tried hard not to think about his empty stomach.

* * *

Later, Noll heard some female voices through the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves around him.

"What? He's more handsome than you?"

He was about to ignore the voice until he heard a familiar voice talking back.

"Of course!"

 _Gene?_

A ray of the evening sunlight entered the tent.

"My younger brother is over here. See?"

The female voices started laughing.

"Oh my god, they're _twins_!"

Noll opened one eye. Six or seven teenage girls staring at him through the opening of the tent. They were very noisy.

He groaned when he saw his brother peeking in.

"Gene."

( _Be pleasant, Noll. Don't ruin my plan. I'm trying to scavenge some food here._ )

Food.

They needed food.

Noll tried his best smile.

The girls squealed instantly.

"Handsome, isn't he?"

"Stop teasing us!" One girl cried out.

( _But why are there so many girls..._ )

( _Well, I talked to one girl, she got her friend, then all of them started to follow us. Isn't it amazing?_ )

Gene was about to pull him out of the tent, but Noll shoved him away. He'd get out of the tent by himself.

( _Where's the food, Gene?_ )

( _Patience, Noll_.)

Gene turned to look at the girls again.

"So here's a funny story," he said, attracting their attention. "We ended up giving the camping site all of our money to get a spot for tonight."

"Huh?! How come? Isn't there an ATM at the convenience store?"

"Oh, there was. But it didn't take my international card."

They blinked in confusion, and exchanged glances.

"…You're not from Japan?"

"We're from England," Gene said with a little smirk.

"FROM ENGLAND?" The girls simultaneously shrieked.

Then various comments followed about how they thought they were Japanese.

Gene looked _very_ pleased, but Noll felt like he was dying on the inside. Why were they freaking out over something like this? He didn't want to be treated like an exotic animal.

As if on cue, he turned to look at Noll.

"Well, I'd tell you more about us, but me and my _poor_ brother are really hungry..."

Then, to score some sympathy points, he proceeded to tell them a short version of the sob story he told to Kobayashi. Hearing this, the girls scattered into different directions to scavenge food for them.

The momentary silence brought Noll relief.

Gene stretched his arms into the air.

"I did it!"

Noll rolled his eyes,

"No, you've overdone it."

Gene shrugged.

"I thought it was best to make complete use of our assets," he said, then blinked at something in the distance. "Ah."

Noll looked to the side. Someone was approaching them. It was the receptionist.

Nakata stopped by the tent with a wicker basket. Its contents were covered by a red-striped tea towel.

"From my boss."

He put the basket in front of them without another word, and left.

"Uh. Thanks."

Gene and Noll exchanged glances before pushing it into the tent. Noll lifted the tea towel. They stared at the contents, but not for long.

Suddenly, Gene sent a panicked message back into his mind.

( _NOLL. HIDE THE BASKET. QUICK._ )

He pushed the basket further into the tent and stood up.

Noll watched Gene wave at someone in the distance with a big smile on his face.

"We have enough. Send them away," Noll said.

( _I don't care. They might bring some delicious things._ )

Noll sighed in resignation and put the basket behind him. How long did he have to endure this?

As expected, the girls brought a variety of things. Mostly leftovers from barbeque meals, various snacks, breads, salads. Some girls apologized, because these were leftovers. But Gene couldn't look anymore happier. Noll could nearly imagine a lone dramatic tear of joy rolling down his face.

"What a feast."

Noll didn't complain. His twin brother was useful for charming people into giving them food.

Having good looks certainly helped, but it felt like they came over to see because of the fact they were twins. Some even asked them the usual dumb twin questions. Then they started asking questions about England, and Gene in turn asked them things about Japan.

None of these questions mattered to him. He quietly ate in the tent as Gene entertained the girls.

(S _end them away already!_ )

( _Quiet Noll_.)

"So, what are you guys doing tomorrow?" One girl asked.

"I don't know about Noll, but I think I'll go for a swim in the lake."

They squealed again and their faces reddened. Noll didn't want to imagine what they were thinking.

"Oh bummer, I'm leaving tomorrow morning." Another girl muttered.

"But what about that haunted school dare, Hinako? Didn't we promise the other guys?" Another one pointed out.

"No way!"

"Why would we? I'd rather go for a swim with these two."

That got his attention.

"Haunted school?" Noll prompted.

"Yeah, there is one, but I don't think anyone is going."

"It's just a suggestion. As if Daichi would go, he's playing the tough guy, obviously!"

That wasn't the information he wanted!

Then Gene skilfully managed to steer the conversation into the direction he wanted.

"What's this about a haunted school?"

"There's an abandoned school nearby," the tallest girl said. "But we've been warned not to go there. "

"That's really interesting." Gene said. "Don't you think, Noll?"

"Are you going?"

Noll shrugged a little.

"Perhaps."

"Then I'll give you a tip. Don't tell the man at the front desk. He got really mad when my brother brought it up!" One of the girls said.

Noll grimaced. That had to be Nakata.

"Yeah, what's his problem? No harm if we take a small look!"

They all nodded.

Gene gave him a sideway glance.

"Um anyway," he said. "I suppose it's for the best if none of us go. I mean, we don't want any trouble with the staff, right?"

The girls easily agreed. It seemed they were more keen on swimming in the lake. With them.

Later, Noll pressured Gene to chase the girls away because they were bothersome. He couldn't handle their company for more than a few minutes and he was still very tired. In any case, Gene managed to 'dismiss' the group of girls by saying that his poor twin brother needed some rest.

After that was over Noll took a moment to recollect his thoughts. He laid on the mat as Gene sat beside him at the entrance of the tent.

Would he tell Gene? Would there even be a need? Something inside of him said 'no'. He didn't need to know how much uncertainty and misery he would have caused to their parents.

He looked up at his brother. Gene looked out over the campsite with a content smile.

 _It's fine like this. He doesn't need to know._

Noll closed his eyes.

After a while he felt a thin cover over his body. He opened his eyes to see Gene lay beside him.

"Noll... I want to stay here."

Noll raised an eyebrow, unsure what he meant.

"I want to stay in Japan." Gene clarified. There was a soft smile on his face.

"Why?"

"You know already. We've seen so many interesting things and interesting people. Don't you want to stay and see more?"

He couldn't say no to that, but he couldn't voice an agreement either.

Gene sighed and continued, "You're lucky... You've got a whole year to yourself until you can enter Cambridge University."

Noll stared at his face. He did apply, but because of age restrictions he could only enter university when he turned seventeen. Until then he would do research at the laboratory.

"You should do whatever you want," He merely said.

"...I can't do this alone." Gene muttered.

"Hm."

Gene turned to lie on his back. He remained quiet.

Noll closed his eyes.

After a few minutes, he heard Gene's voice again.

"We need more people. You need it too."

"What do you mean?"

"More people who can work with us."

"How come?'

"Because I keep thinking about the tree spirit..." Gene said. "I was apprehensive for no reason. It was completely harmless. Its tree was dying. I only realized after passing right through it."

How odd. A dying tree in summer.

"Because you're not familiar with them."

"I think this is what Madoka meant. We need a different environment, step out of our comfort zone and surround ourselves with different people. People with different backgrounds."

Noll snorted.

"Like the old men we've encountered so far?"

Gene chuckled.

"Not necessarily old people. I think we also need young people like us, who are the new blood in their respective fields."

Noll didn't know if he wanted this. But it didn't sound bad either.

Gene continued. "Also... I'm really sorry about earlier."

He smiled a little. So, Gene still felt bad about leaving him at the bus stop?

"It's fine already. Sleep."

"Okay."

Gene yawned and turned on his side.

"I'm really glad you're here with me."

"…Yeah."

* * *

Gene awoke to the buzzing sound of cicadas. The faint morning light reached behind his eyelids. He groaned, rolled over and bumped into another warm body. Gene opened his eyes and found his brother still soundly asleep.

 _Time to go to the bathroom._

He slowly got up, taking care not to wake Noll, and walked into the direction of the reception building. Most people seemed to be sleeping as Gene had the bathroom for himself. While washing his face with water, Gene pondered over what to do for the rest of the day. Perhaps he could take a walk on the path along the river nearby. But Noll probably wouldn't be keen on taking a morning stroll along the many tents. Gene sighed. He couldn't deny it was bothersome that they attracted so much attention.

Come to think of it, the girls planned on going to the lake at noon.

Gene dabbed his wet face with a towel.

But there was something else: the abandoned elementary school.

Gene had been surprised when Noll brought it up in front of Nakata. During the entirety of their trip Noll did not show any intentions of getting into ghostly adventures. It was simply too dangerous to go off on their own without at least one other person around.

However, it bothered Gene more that there was indeed a school which was rumoured to be haunted. The rumours had spread among the tourists, and even made Nakata nervous. Something was going on. It enticed his curiosity… Yet, at the same time a certain sadness lingered on the fringes of his mind. Why would an elementary school be haunted?

Gene stepped out of the bathroom and found a frowning man outside the door.

 _Speak of the devil._

"Nakata-san?"

Nakata briefly sighed and handed over a plastic bag.

"Here's some onigiri."

Gene took it in the bag in his hands.

"But isn't it a little too much? We hardly paid after all…"

Nakata looked away.

"Kobayashi-san said that her granddaughter was very happy with the book. You may freely go after checking out."

"Uh thank you very much…" Gene said, gazing up at the man with a look of appreciation. He didn't seem like a bad person.

Nakata narrowed his eyes a little. "Don't get into trouble."

He turned around and entered the reception building.

"Uh, okay."

Gene stared into the bag. Two onigiri. It wasn't much this time, but luckily they still had some leftovers from yesterday. On the way back to the tent, his thoughts returned to Noll. _Something happened_ , Gene thought. _But what?_ He couldn't figure it out. Normally he could easily sneak a glance at the surface of Noll's thoughts. But this time there was nothing. His thoughts were hidden away. Down the surface, sunken deep into the depths. Yet, Noll didn't seem troubled at all.

He found Noll sitting in front of the tent with a faraway stare.

Gene shook his head lightly. No, Noll was probably thinking deeply about something, as he usually did whenever he buried himself in research. Hopefully it would be about what he suggested last night.

Their eyes met. Gene let out a breath and smiled.

"Morning, Noll."

Gene placed the plastic bag in front of his brother. He took out the triangular seaweed onigiri and passed it to Noll.

"Let's dig in!"

Gene ate the salmon onigiri with mayonnaise, while telling Noll about his encounter with Nakata just earlier.

A few minutes later they heard some familiar voices. Gene turned and spotted two girls around their age. They had been here yesterday. One of the girls had a plastic bag in their hand, presumably containing even more breakfast items.

Gene let out a happy sigh.

"Getting breakfast from girls is the best…"

Noll sighed wearily.

"Isn't Luella enough for you?"

Gene winked and got up.

"She's Martin's girl. Doesn't count!" he whirled around. "- Good morning!"

After some small talk the girls handed over a plastic bag. They asked whether they would come to the lake this noon. To his dismay, Noll cut in and said they would 'think about it' with a fake smile. The look in his eyes said it all - _Bugger off_.

The girls didn't seem to notice Noll's bad mood. They giggled and left quickly.

Gene recognized this behaviour. Flirting. That's why they came in a pair. One twin for each girl.

"Why'd you say that?"

"I've had enough of them," Noll said.

"They seemed nice."

"Because they got us breakfast?"

"Hmm."

Noll narrowed his eyes.

"Gene, don't do it anymore."

"What?"

"Flirting."

Gene scoffed.

"Hmph. I wasn't flirting with a specific person. If you're flirting with everyone, you're flirting with no one!"

"What?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Gene said as he stuck a hand into the plastic bag and searched for the next breakfast item. "I treated every girl the same. There's nothing behind it."

Noll gave him a withered stare.

"…Have you forgotten about her already?"

He blinked at Noll's question.

"Who …Mayumi?" Gene said as he pulled something out of the basket. "Ah! Yakisoba bread!"

Noll looked away.

"No, never mind."

Gene felt a pang of sadness as he realized who Noll was talking about. He didn't want to think of her anymore. He didn't want to see her anymore. Gene looked down at the bread and broke it into halves.

"Stop complaining, Noll. Here's your share."

Gene put half of the yakisoba bread in Noll's hands.

After they finished eating the bread, Noll went to the bathroom. Gene began to pack the remaining foodstuff into their backpacks. It had to be eaten on the train journey back to Tokyo.

After Noll returned, Gene asked: "Do you want some tea? There's a water cooker near the front desk. "

Noll nodded.

"Okay, be right back."

Gene got up and left.

When he arrived at the building, he heard voices talking above him from an open window. He recognized Nakata's voice.

 _"Someone should keep an eye on them. What if they disappear?"_

That caught his attention.

Gene stopped and looked up at the open window above him.

 _"Why? They're very sweet boys."_ That was Kobayashi.

 _"Those boys seem like troublemakers. One of them asked if I knew of any abandoned buildings to sleep in."_

Kobayashi made a strangled noise.

 _"What! You can't be serious."_

Gene grimaced. They were talking about him and Noll...

 _"...Ma'am, as you know,"_ Nakata continued. _"Kids tend to explore boundaries, such as going to dangerous spots for a dare. I wouldn't put them past that."_

There was a silence.

 _"Goodness, I'm glad I gave them a spot here. What if they went missing too?"_

 _"Yes, they'd better not go to that school."_

Gene frowned. The school _did_ seem to be haunted. Noll was oddly enough right on the mark.

 _"...But don't tell them. The rumour might spread."_

Nakata's voice went cold. _"I don't think keeping quiet is the solution to all of this."_

 _"Are you telling me to against the village chief?"_

The conversation continued in a heated manner, but Gene had heard enough.

He knocked on Noll's 'door' and slowly walked into the reception room.

( _Noll. Are you still interested in that school building?_ )

( _Why?_ )

( _I overheard the Nakata and Kobayashi talk. Seems like some people went into the school building and never came out._ )

Gene greeted the young lady at the front desk.

( _Might be worthwhile._ )

( _Nakata is onto us though._ )

He stood in front of the water cooker and pretended to check the various tea bags in the box.

( _Find out where it is. I'll take our backpacks._ )

( _Roger!_ )

Gene set his sights on the young woman at the front desk. He approached her with a warm smile.

"Excuse me? I have a question."

A few minutes later he found Noll outside the reception building. It didn't look like Noll had bothered taking down their tent; he had only brought their backpacks.

"Where is it?" Noll asked as he handed over Gene's backpack.

"It's in ...Katsuyashinoda. A thirty-minute drive with a car," Gene said. "I didn't want to alarm the front desk lady any further, so I told her that we'd go to the train station instead."

Noll put his thumb under his chin. "That's far from here."

"Yeah. Nakata will catch up with us once he hears about this. Do you still want to go?"

Before Noll opened his mouth, Gene suddenly spotted something behind him. There was a family of three in the car park. The daughter of that family ran up to them. She smiled and waved.

Gene waved back.

"Hey, Hinako!"

"I thought you guys went swimming. Are you leaving already?" she asked.

"We were planning on going to that haunted school first," Noll said.

"Really?" Hinako said. "But I heard it's a far walk from here."

"Yeah, it should take a while to get there. I'd really, really would like to go there, but we need to return to Tokyo today as well..."

Hinako blinked and looked back at her parents. "In that case I could ask my parents if they could drop you off there."

Gene and Noll exchanged glances.

"Well, if you could, that would be great."

* * *

As it turned out, Hinako's parents were kind enough to give them a drive to Katsuyashinoda. Gene told them that they were going to sightsee some nature in the area, so they didn't question the brothers' intentions that much. The car left the car park, and passed the campsite. Noll quietly looked out of the window, seeing a small river and some wooden huts. In the meanwhile, Hinako and Gene talked all the way through the short trip. They exchanged emails and promised to stay in contact.

The car stopped near a relatively narrow path after a short drive up the mountain. Gene and Noll got out and thanked Hinako's parents. Then they said their goodbyes to Hinako. Hinako's face flushed red after Gene winked at her behind the car window as the car pulled up and drove away. Seeing this, Noll resisted the urge to kick his brother's behind. Nothing good would come out of this.

"Let's go," Noll said, and turned into the direction of the winding, narrow path. They could vaguely see the school compound through the trees. To the other side two or three residences were visible. Two of the houses appeared to operate as shops as well. At closer inspection, the windows were closed and there was no sign of inhabitation.

"I wonder what kind of shops these were," Gene muttered, helplessly narrowing his eyes at the signs that he couldn't read.

Noll stared at the ice-cream refrigerator in front of the house. "A grocery shop?"

"Then the other one must have been a souvenir shop."

"…And abandoned somewhat recently going by state of the houses."

Gene turned and walked to the front of the half-open gateway. The gateway's metal frames had rusted.

"Strange." Gene pointed with a finger at the lock with keys hanging from it. "The keys are still here."

They went up the slope and arrived at a field, fully covered by weeds. The elementary school was located a small distance away from the gate. The forest was visible overhead.

"Ugh, I'd hate to be a student here. What kind of scenery is this!"

It seemed like a desolate place even if the weeds had been removed. Not to mention there was a stench coming from a small swimming pool.

Noll looked back at the gate. The building wasn't too far from the campsite. If people went missing, it's possible they came from outside the village as well.

Then he turned to look at Gene. Gene squinted at the building. From where they stood it probably was too far to see anything in detail. Noll went to stand beside him and stared at the wooden two-storey building. The glasses in the windows were all broken.

"What can you make of this?" He asked.

"What can I say? It's very derelict. Suppose Madoka would have liked this one."

He had to admit the school building looked unpleasant, and very much neglected. Just the way Madoka preferred her haunted sites. But that wasn't the assessment he wanted to hear from Gene.

"And?" Noll prompted.

"Definitely haunted!" Gene proclaimed.

"How much do you see?"

"Way too many. I reckon there's over ten at least. Possibly more."

Noll frowned. "So they're visible in the windows?"

"Yeah, they're staring at us." Gene lowered his voice. "Waiting for us to come."

"Hm, let's go."

They went over to the building, trampling through the weeds. Noll was relieved that he wore trousers instead of shorts..

"I wonder if Nakata is going to come get us." Gene muttered. "Front desk lady must have tipped him off by now."

"You think he's going to come?" Noll asked.

"He seemed worried." Gene stopped in the shielded entrance. "And I can see why."

The doors were open. As if it was made to look inviting on purpose. Just like the gateway.

"There's no one in the entry hall. I think they're waiting for us to move." Gene speculated.

Noll took his backpack off, put it down and retrieved a notebook.

"Are we going in? I might see something then."

"I'm going to stay here." Noll said. He wasn't going to lock himself in.

Gene raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"I'll record the things I notice and corroborate it to your experiences," Noll said, "So get right onto it."

"Huh? Are you having a laugh?" Gene balked. "You're not actually sending me out there alone, right?"

His irritation rose. They came this far. Why was Gene chickening out right now?

Noll glared at his brother momentarily, then sighed.

"…It's a pity you hardly ever use your brains despite being intellectually gifted."

Gene twitched his eyebrow.

"Why you..."

"If you can do OBE, you might as well make use of it." He opened the notebook. "In the mean time I will record any interesting phenomena."

"Noll, you're impossible." Gene wheezed. "I just woke up. I can't do OBE when I'm wide awake. Let me live!"

"If you ever change your mind, do opt-in for a dissection of your brain. I'd appreciate it." Noll quipped.

Gene shot him a glare that evenly matched his own.

"Shut up about my brain and put me into a trance, stupid nerd!"

He took his backpack off and went over to a pole in front of the entrance.

"...Very well."

Gene sat against the pole. Noll kneeled in front of him and gave him a short instruction.

"Do a preliminary inspection before you start anything."

"Right."

After putting him into a trance, Noll stood upright and looked at the entrance. Nothing showed up, but he did hear strange sounds - human cries. It couldn't have come from the neighbourhood. Everything was too far away. He noted it down.

Gene stirred a little. Fifteen minutes had passed.

"Gene?"

His eyes opened.

"Children... No, _gaki_."

"What happened?"

"They showed up as children at first. I think I surprised them because there were no physical visitors in the building."

"What about the gaki?"

"I saw some around the corner. They were watching me from afar. Still hesitating I guess."

"What keeps them there?"

"I'm not sure. ...They must have died collectively on a certain date, if I guessed it correctly from the blackboard."

"What do you mean?"

"It's abandoned, rather than properly closed down. The tables in the classrooms still had notebooks in them." Gene said, and grimaced. "The biology room was particularly awful. They abandoned a dog there, I think."

Noll cupped his chin with a hand.

"I wonder why they left the things as they were."

Gene shrugged.

"How should I know?"

"...Have you found bodies?"

"No. If there were any, they must have hidden them well."

"You didn't look above the ceilings or in between the walls."

Gene smiled wryly.

"I prefer not to, honestly."

"Point taken."

Gene folded his legs closer to his body and wrapped his arms around them.

"Noticed anything on your side?" He asked.

Noll shook his head.

"Nothing in particular. Maybe some human voices."

Gene looked down with a glum expression.

"It's so sad… Why did so many children die?"

He went silent.

Noll briefly glanced at the gate again. They had to hurry up.

"Any idea about the cause?"

"They didn't die in this school. That's for sure. It might have been an accident."

"Then it occurred outside the school."

"On a school trip perhaps..." Gene added.

"But they returned here, because it's the only familiar place they knew - aside from their homes."

He frowned.

"Then what's keeping them there? It can't be the only reason."

Gene had a point, Noll thought.

"Do you think there's someone else involved?"

He blinked.

"…I don't know. I'll take another look."

Gene closed his eyes. This time he was gone immediately.

* * *

After several minutes, Noll heard noises. The noises did not come from the building. Noll glanced back the gate again. A car had arrived. Someone stepped out and closed the door.

Nakata.

At first he wore a shocked expression, but anger quickly settled in on his face.

"What do you think you're doing here!" Nakata yelled.

The man stepped through the weeds, fuming and cursing to himself along the way.

Noll braced himself as he looked down at his unconscious brother.

This could get bad. He had to let Gene do his job before they were taken away. This meant Noll had to hold a conversation. Holding a conversation was unfortunately one of his weak points.

Nakata stopped in front of them and folded his arms. The receptionist looked more intimidating than behind the front desk. He was clearly a man with plenty of physical strength.

"Answer my question. Why are you here?"

"To purify the spirits."

This took Nakata by surprise.

"Hah?"

"Exorcism."

Nakata was dumbfounded.

"…You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm not." Noll said. His glance flitted from Nakata to the entrance of the building. "This place is haunted."

Nakata's face went white.

"You don't disagree with me?" Noll looked up at him, intrigued.

"I…" Nakata started. "How do you know that?"

Noll pointed at Gene. "He's seen them. The children."

"Huh?" Nakata looked down at the sleeping boy. "Come to think of it, why is he sleeping there?"

"He's going to talk them and send them to heaven." Noll clarified.

Nakata's eyes went wide. "Why are you two doing this…?"

"The rumours caught my attention… and the way you reacted to my question caught my interest."

His mouth pursed together, but not out of anger. "This place is dangerous… I'm going to take you two out of here."

Nakata moved forward to Gene, but Noll stood in his way.

"It's fine if we stay outside the building." Noll insisted. "We're safe here."

"Even so, you can't be sure!" Nakata snapped.

"My brother might be annoying, but he knows very well what he's doing." Noll countered. "Ten minutes. Give him ten minutes."

He hated praising his brother like this, but to his surprise it seemed to work. Nakata folded his arms reluctantly. He finally appeared to back off.

"Okay, I'll stay here until he's done... I guess. Then I'll take you to the train station and hope I'll never see you the two here again."

"Fine."

Nakata sighed and looked at the entrance.

A minute passed before he said something again.

"I'm an alumnus of this school."

Noll's ears perked up at this revelation. He looked at Nakata.

His eyes seemed pained.

"I have so many memories of this school," he said. "...There was a guy in my class who regularly got into fights with the teachers. Sometimes he would get the entire class punished. I hated him for that. I avoided him for a long time, but he was good with people so my classmates liked him despite all of the trouble he caused."

He went silent.

"I don't know why I'm telling this to you..."

"Go on," Noll said. It would help him pass time.

"...We went to different middle schools. I happened to meet him again in high school. He changed... As if he had become a different person. We even became best friends, haha. When I asked him why he turned out like that, he told me he found something worth living for... A purpose of sorts." Nakata smiled softly. "That guy had found his purpose. It just seemed silly to me back then."

There was a long pause. Noll turned to look at Nakata.

Nakata was staring at the pavement with an impenetrable expression. He opened his mouth and in a small voice he said, "...He became a teacher at this school."

A tear rolled down his face.

"...What happened to him?" Noll said.

Nakata sighed softly.

"...Ah, you don't know right. Since you're from abroad. There was a landslide three years ago," he sniffed, pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and blew his nose. "A cliff facing the road crumbled because of deforestation and rain. It buried many houses and cars. They were on a field trip."

He took a moment.

"Everyone on the bus died."

"The entire student body?"

Nakata nodded.

 _That explains a lot._

"They held a memorial service, but these disappearances keep happening." Nakata said. "If it's true that it's haunted, then I wonder if he's here too."

Noll widened his eyes.

"That's..."

 _Possible. Entirely possible._

"Kirishima?"

There was someone in the window on the second floor. Nakata and Noll froze. It was a man. There was a sad smile on his transparent face.

At that moment Gene spoke.

"They're leaving. ...He wants to say goodbye."

Noll looked down. Gene's eyes were still closed.

Nakata grit his teeth. Anger replaced his sadness in a flash.

"He was responsible for those disappearances, right? I'll kick his sorry ass!"

Nakata ran into the building and went upstairs.

"Nakata-san! Wait!"

Noll followed him and heard a door creaking as he went up.

After turning the bend of the staircase, Noll found himself in front of a false wooden wall with a small door at the bottom centre. He looked through the gap and heard Nakata's footsteps on the staircase.

 _What a pain._

Noll crawled through the door and went up to the top of the staircase. He looked around until he found Nakata standing in front of one of the rooms with a shocked expression.

"Nakata-san…"

Noll stared into the classroom.

Kirishima stood there, surrounded by children. The children disappeared one by one. Then he smiled at Nakata and mouthed a 'goodbye'. Then he turned around and disappeared with the last child in his hand.

"He's gone..." Nakata said. He walked over to the window where Kirishima had been standing.

Noll waited.

"If he had stayed alive I wouldn't have been in so much pain." Nakata muttered. "And I don't know how many times I've seen the look in the faces of the children's parents. Every time I see them, I'm reminded of him. Damn it!"

The man started sobbing.

"Noll…"

Noll turned around and found Gene in the corridor.

"I assume it's safe now?"

Gene nodded and cried a little.

Noll sighed. He never knew how to comfort crying people.

"Good job."

"Thanks." He sniffed.

"Nakata is going to drive us to the train station. Let's wait for him outside."

"Okay."

Gene wiped his tears.

"They were best friends."

"I know. He told me." Noll said. "Let's go then."

They walked back to the entrance. Noll slowly took in his surroundings. It was the same as in the vision.

* * *

Noll and Gene waited in front of the building with their backpacks.

Nakata returned with puffy eyes.

"The building is safe. There won't be any more disappearances." Noll said.

"Good." Nakata sighed and looked up at the second floor. "That guy was a trouble to the end."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thanks." Nakata said with a tiny smile. "But I think I can move on now."

"That's great to hear." Gene smiled.

"Still!"

Gene nearly jumped out of his skin at the loud voice.

Nakata folded his arms.

"You boys gave me a scare! Running off like that! I nearly had a heart attack when I heard you were planning on going here!"

They muttered some half-hearted apologies.

The man huffed and turned around.

"Come on now. I'll drop you off at the station."

"Yes sir," Gene said.

As promised, Nakata gave them a car ride to the nearest train station. It took about ten minutes to get there. On the way, Nakata told them about the landslide, and the disappearances of children following a month of the incident. The children's bodies were rumored to be found in Katsuyashinoda - or more specifically in the abandoned elementary school. What's more, nearly all the victims were tourists from the nearby campsite and ski resort. About a year after, the village elders started to hush up the fact that these disappearances were happening regularly. It didn't sit well with Nakata.

The car stopped in front of the train station.

"What will you do, Nakata-san?" Gene said. "The bodies might still be up there."

Nakata let out a shaky breath.

"...Well, it won't be easy to get it out in the open." Then he glanced at the brothers with a small grin. "But that's none of your business. Just get out of here safely and enjoy the rest of your holidays."

Noll and Gene got out of the car. They watched Nakata's car drive away and leave their sight.

"I wonder if it will be alright to leave it like this."

"He'll manage," Noll said. "Let's find an ATM."

They stepped into the nearest convenience store they could find, and waited with baited breath in front of the ATM. The twins let out a sigh of relief when the cashpoint returned two banknotes of 10,000 yen.

Gene turned around with a serious expression.

"Noll. I need you to promise me something. Never _ever_ tell Luella or Martin about this fiasco."

"I know."

"They'd kill us if they knew we were broke."

"Yeah."

They stared at each other.

Gene suddenly laughed out loud, causing the other customers in the store to look at them. But Noll didn't care. To think he would never see that laughing face ever again.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

Alternative chapter title 1: Davis Twins: Broke, but Alive.

Alternative chapter title 2: Nakata, not just a background character!

Alternative chapter title 3: Eugene Davis, a womanizer at the mere age of fifteen (soon to be sixteen).

Alternative chapter title 4: Oliver Davis, officially done with Eugene and girls.


	8. Everchanging

**Chapter 7: Everchanging**

 **Cambridge, August 2006**

On a quiet Sunday afternoon, Martin returned from the kitchen with a tray in his hands. He placed four cups of tea on the coffee table. Two for Luella and Madoka, and another one front of an empty spot next to the ladies. Then he took his own cup and sat down in the big seat next to the sofa.

A relaxing piano piece played from a corner of the living room.

Martin glanced at Madoka after sipping his tea. He hadn't spoken to Madoka after dropping the twins off at the airport. Her 'date' piqued his curiosity to the point that he watched out for any sign of Timothy at the college. Martin passed him by in the hallways a few times, but each time one or both had been occupied. The fact that they were in two completely different departments did not help. Not to mention this wasn't a matter he could bring up without sounding intrusive.

Martin knew it was none of his business so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

However, a couple of days ago Martin happened to bump into Tina. Apparently, Timothy had spent the past three weeks in a daze. Going by his odd behaviour, Tina speculated that it had something to do with the same woman whom he invited to the coffee house almost two month ago.

Martin narrowed his eyes at Madoka.

 _Could it be...?_

"I can't believe Oliver said this."

Luella stared at Madoka's phone.

"I couldn't either," Madoka said.

Luella started muttering under her breath.

"This is going too fast."

She was clearly worried about the drastic turn of events.

Martin could not disagree with that sentiment and leaned forward.

"What did he say?"

Luella handed him the phone.

Martin took it and scanned the text displayed on the screen. His frown deepened while reading it.

 _Dear Madoka,_

 _I decided to take up your proposal for establishing and becoming the head of the Japanese branch of SPR. The branch will accommodate my research for the time being. Gene and I will call our parents tomorrow at 11 in the morning to discuss the details. It's best to get in touch with them and join the conversation._

 _Oliver_

Martin had suspected that Noll would gain mild interest in Japan during the trip, but the suddenness of that decision surprised him.

 _What in the world happened?_ Martin thought and placed Madoka's phone on the coffee table.

In the meanwhile, Luella showed Madoka the message from Gene on her phone.

"I was gobsmacked after reading this!"

 _Dear mum and dad,_

 _Don't worry we are alive and well! Our phones died during a long hike and we weren't able contact you during that time! I'll get straight to the point: I want to do my A levels here in Japan. Oh, and Noll's going full mad scientist and joining my adventure. Will call you tomorrow at 11 in the morning to get you updated. I hear Madoka might want to join you. Speak to you soon._

 _Gene_

"I wonder what convinced him," Martin said.

Madoka laughed.

"I'm willing to bet he gets a lot of attention from the girls over there."

"I bet he does. Both will," Luella said, and pursed her lips. "I just don't like the idea of letting Eugene loose on his own."

Martin nodded.

"Neither do I."

"He has Noll," Madoka said.

He shook his head.

"Noll can't be there for him every time," Martin said. "I'm glad they went on the trip together, but I'm also of the opinion that they should grow a little more independent from one the other."

"But they're still minors," Luella said.

Martin agreed. "Of course. At least one adult should go with them. We need someone who can watch over both."

Luella sighed.

"That's the problem. The two of us have jobs here. Not to mention you can't speak a lick of Japanese and I am barely proficient. Who would you suggest?"

Madoka's gaze moved to the corner of the room. Luella and Martin turned their heads.

Lin stopped playing the piano and stared back at them.

"What?"

Madoka smiled.

"Well. Lin has all the qualifications. He speaks Japanese very well and spent a significant amount of time in Tokyo itself. I am sure he can guide and protect your boys from harm…" Madoka said, then added, "and themselves."

Luella turned to look at Martin and said: "What do you think?"

Her face had brightened up at Madoka's idea.

 _Indeed, if Lin was with them…_

"Not a bad suggestion at all…"

"There you have it," She nodded in satisfaction. "We would be very happy if Lin lives with the boys."

"Brilliant!" Madoka clapped her hands. "Lin! You'll become their babysitter!"

Lin blinked.

"…I beg your pardon?"

Luella sank back into the sofa with a cup of tea in hand.

"Darling, how much do you reckon that it's going to cost us?"

Martin folded his arms.

"Tokyo is an expensive city. We can't pay everything out of our pockets," he said while scratching his chin. "Both Lin and Noll will get a salary from the SPR. If all goes well, they may be able to count on the goodwill of a patron."

"But that won't be enough to cover for Eugene as well," Luella said.

Martin nodded.

She added, "And we need to pay babysitter fees for Lin."

Lin blanched.

"I don't remember agreeing to any of this."

Martin smiled weakly.

"I'm sure it will be fine!"

Lin started to panic a little.

"I hear what you say, but could you consider other options?"

Madoka inclined her head innocently.

"Do we have other options?"

"Madoka… Professsor…"

Luella chuckled.

"Don't worry, Lin. You'll get paid."

"But-"

"Babysitter fees, Lin. Babysitter fees," Luella emphasized. "Don't underestimate raising twin boys. If you ever have children, you'll understand."

Lin sighed.

"Then how will Eugene pay for his school fees..."

"He'll have to get a part time job. I'm not letting that boy off easily. He'll need to work for it," Luella said and turned to look at Madoka. "Is it possible for Gene to get part-time work?"

"Hmm, I'll investigate it."

"And Oliver will receive a small salary, right? How about we give a portion of our budget to Lin?"

Martin nodded. "Good idea."

At that moment, the phone rang.

Luella pushed the button of the loudspeaker. After a few second they heard a familiar voice.

 _"Good morning from Tokyo! Good morning."_

The people in the room frowned simultaneously. This could get complicated.

"Good morning... Great to hear the two of you. Can you let one of you speak first?" Luella said. "I don't think any of us can distinguish your voices like this."

A few seconds passed before they heard the twins' reactions.

 _"Oh. Sorry. You talk first. No, you do. Fine. I'll go ahead. I can't hear the conversation like this. ...Put the phone there. Damn it. Now I can't hear. Shut up."_

Martin put a hand against his forehead. "Are the two of you done?"

 _"Yes."_

"And this is?" Madoka asked.

" _Oliver."_

"I read your message. I let the higher ups know about your decision," she said, "and about the financial support... I'll send you a follow up by text."

" _Thank you."_

"I have a question," Luella interrupted. "How long do you plan on staying in Japan?"

 _"At least two years as Gene plans on completing his education here."_

Luella frowned a little.

"I suppose that means you won't enter university next year."

" _I'll postpone it."_

"Alright then, if you say so," Luella said even though she didn't seem entirely convinced.

Martin added some support for his son.

"Oliver is young. I don't mind if he resumes at a later point in life."

"You're right," Luella said. "I'm sorry for interrupting. Please go on, Madoka."

Madoka nodded.

"I brought Lin with me. I thought you would want to speak with him as well."

" _Lin? …Yes, I'd like to."_

Lin sat down.

"What can I do for you?"

" _You are probably aware of this, but Madoka indicated that she would stay in Cambridge to keep the field laboratory running. That only leaves you as the only other Japanese-speaking person who can help me with this."_

Going by his light nod, Lin seemed to understand. There were five Japanese-speaking people in the laboratory, including Madoka, Lin and the twins. The fifth person had a family with small children. Lin had no such ties at the moment.

"Very well."

The person at the end of the line sighed.

" _Thank you. It will be of great help. Especially if we take up cases. I will require your skills for at least two years. Your tasks will be essentially the same as before."_

"Understood."

Martin interrupted.

"You have no qualms if Lin lives with you two for the time being?"

" _I already expected that since we're still minors…"_

"Good. Luella and I won't leave you two on your own in a foreign country until you're of age."

" _I understand, father and mother."_

Martin could sense their grimaces at the end of the line.

"Well, it won't be too much of a trouble to hire an office _and_ a flat with a portion of SPR's budget which includes two salaries… But the problem is- "

" _Gene."_

"Yes, can we talk to him?"

" _Yes,"_ Noll's voice said.

" _It's me, Gene,"_ the same voice appeared to say.

Luella started. "Dear, what in the world are you planning to do?"

" _Like I said, I want to do my A levels here -"_

"No, why and how?"

Gene sighed.

" _I really like it here and it's a great chance to brush up my Japanese reading and writing, and… to get more involved with the culture? There's so much I didn't know about."_

Both Martin and Luella understood. It could be a nice and positive cultural experience for both twins, but still… they had expected that it would remain at the level of 'holiday trips'.

Gene continued, _"To prove that I'm going to take an A level in Japanese."_

"Madoka did tell us about a British school in Tokyo. But do they teach Japanese there too?"

" _Yeah. The exams are all about reading and writing though, so that will be a bit of a hurdle to overcome…"_

"Can you?"

" _I trust my good memory!"_

Luella sighed.

"Then what about your school here?"

" _Oh, about that. I'll de-register after we get back. And I need to submit a list of grades to the new school. If one you could scan my diploma and mail it to me..."_

Martin folded his arms. "Of course. I'll scan a copy."

" _Thanks, Martin."_

"…Just one more thing."

" _Yes?"_

"How much are the school fees?"

" _Uh."_

" _I'm not paying,"_ Noll said.

" _I know that!"_

The call ended with Luella suggesting Gene to take up a part-time job. Martin was satisfied, but a little apprehensive at how quickly it escalated. One day they expected Noll and Gene to return to their regular ways, and the next day the twins suggested to go abroad to advance their own endeavours. He couldn't help but wonder what had brought this on. It was all very new to him. Not only him, but Luella as well. She was a little nervous during the call, but now she seemed supportive.

Being supportive was all they could do, but it would help if someone else kept an eye on the twins while they weren't there.

Luella was the first to address Lin.

"So about the babysitter fees…"

She quickly arranged something with Lin. He had warmed up a little to becoming a 'babysitter' and accepted his new job despite initial misgivings. However, it quickly became clear that Lin needed a smoke, so after excusing himself, he headed out. Madoka decided it was time to leave as well.

Martin saw them out.

"Madoka."

Madoka stopped.

"Yes?"

"How did the lab tour go?"

Unfortunately, Madoka saw through his question.

"You're asking about Timothy?"

First name basis, he noted.

"… Yes."

"I toured him around a little. He seemed very interesred. Oh, and he met Lin."

Martin stared at Lin, who stood near Madoka's car. He wore a pensive expression.

"Lin was there? How did that go?"

She smiled brightly.

"As well as you might expect."

Martin frowned. That didn't tell him anything.

"Anyway," Madoka said. "I must thank you, Professor."

"...For what?"

Madoka smiled.

"Nothing," she said innocently. "By the way, I was wondering about Gene."

"Gene?"

"He seemed depressed."

"Oh, that was because of his ex-girlfriend," Martin said. "Gene told you about her, didn't he? I think he's fine now. Ready to move on."

"Yes, but... I can't help but think it was something else now."

"What?"

"Right before the flight. When I asked about school he seemed worried about something."

"School?" Martin blinked. "Gene was ranked second best in his year."

"Is that so? It sounded like he was already considering to change schools."

Martin blinked. Both Luella and he had assumed it had concerned Gene's love life rather than school. Gene never mentioned anything about enrolling into a different Sixth Form prior to the flight.

"No?" She said. "Then I must have imagined it."

He smiled wryly.

"Who knows… These days the boys don't tell me everything."

Lin had finished his cigarette and gestured at Madoka.

"Anyway, I must be going now," she said and went over to the car. "I'll contact you as soon as possible."

Martin nodded at Lin.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Lin."

Lin shrugged.

"It's… a little unexpected, considering Noll's previous stance."

"But not unwelcome?"

"I don't mind going back to Japan."

"Oh, that's rare thing for you to say."

"I did not hate living there," Lin said, and looked up at the sky with a smile. "In fact, I can easily imagine why Noll changed his mind."

* * *

 **Tokyo, August 2006**

Gene did all that he could to make living in Tokyo as a high school student possible. There were only a few days left of their stay in Japan before returning to the UK.

He applied to the school after Martin and Luella sent him a copy of his diploma. Now he would have to wait on the decision of Admission Office before being offered a place, or worse, be placed in a waiting pool. Ideally, Gene wanted transfer in next month or in October at latest. However, the people of the Admission Office seemed impressed by his achievements, so it looked like there wouldn't be much of a trouble to get into the school.

In the meanwhile, Noll regularly received updates from Madoka, who had to arrange proper visas as well as taking care of the business side of things for the Japanese branch of the Society of Psychical Research. Luckily, her parents and their business partners were well-acquainted with those processes, so all Noll and Gene could do was wait on her to pull the strings. All of this would take time though. In other words, it could possibly take a while before they could settle in.

Gene decided to enjoy the remaining days by going to Akihabara and some other places that Noll didn't want to visit. Noll had lost the will to accompany Gene wherever he went. By the time they returned to Tokyo, Noll had taken to holing up inside their air-conditioned hotel room and wasting the days away by sleeping and writing in a notebook.

Gene wondered if Noll was bothered by something. He searched the surface of Noll's thoughts whenever he got a chance, but found no clue.

At the very least they were staying at a western-style hotel in Shinjuku; Noll seemed grateful to eat decent vegetarian meals after having some days of compromises. Gene speculated that Noll's current behaviour was due to exhaustion. The heat and humidity had taken a turn for the worse to the point that it affected Gene himself. Instead of using a summer jacket, he resigned to using sunscreen on his arms. That's why Gene couldn't blame Noll for feeling a bit under the weather.

After a quick dinner at a ramen restaurant, Gene headed back to the hotel. He recounted his day to Noll, who grudgingly listened, then exhaustion settled in; Gene fell asleep.

His focus settled on a lone figure in a hazy dream.

Gene knew it was the girl, because of that painful feeling he couldn't quite explain.

The girl wandered around in her room as if in a daze. Her body was in a futon next to her.

 _She's a natural_ , Gene thought. _I wonder if I could teach her._

Gene attempted to reach out to her with his hand, but she was a long distance away from him.

Instead, his eyes opened. He was in the hotel again. Gene looked to the side.

Noll was reading his notebook on the other bed, but he wasn't paying any attention to him.

Gene sat up and looked down at his hands.

"Ah."

At realizing his current state, Gene stepped out of his body.

"Well, this is surprising."

He usually made a conscious decision to astral walk. Either by his own will or induced by someone. This time it was neither. It only happened a few times in his life. Including his very first out-of-body experience.

Gene blinked.

"Wait. Didn't I start out like this?"

He reached out to her. Wanted to find her.

"Back then I was looking for…"

Father.

Neither Gene or Noll remembered what he was like, because he hardly came home, and when he did, he would keep distance from his sons. However, Gene could clearly remember his face; neither he or Noll looked much like him. They resembled their mother much more.

Sometimes their father would sleep in the apartment, but more than often he left immediately. When Gene was little, he often wondered why father always left.

On a winter night, Gene heard the front door closing. Father had left again. Gene decided to follow him out in his pyjamas. He wanted to find out where he was going, so he walked behind the tall figure for a long time. Strangely, he felt warm and light on his bare feet despite the cold. At one point, a car stopped in front of them. Father talked to the driver and got in the backseat, never noticing Gene. Then they drove off, leaving Gene in a place he could not recognize. He had no idea how to find his way back home. So, he wandered the streets of Boston at night. When he asked for help from the few people on the streets, no one noticed him. This continued until he gave up and asked Noll for help through the hotline. Noll shook him awake and told him he had been dreaming. After learning that Gene had seen their father getting into a car with someone, Noll had frowned. However, mother had looked upset. And frightened.

Gene shook his head. This wasn't the time to reminiscence.

He got out of his bed and stared down at the pages of Noll's notebook. Gene found something familiar between the pages. Noll had taken the letter to Japan.

Gene blinked in confusion.

There was little point in 'reading' the letter now. With the future changed, the visions were rendered obsolete. Including the nightmare.

 _The future has changed. Right?_

If Noll heard his thoughts right now, he'd call him a naive fool.

But Gene didn't want to think of an alternative. A life without Noll was unimaginable.

Gene turned and walked through the door to the balcony.

"Where in the world is she?"

He looked out over the side street in which the hotel was located. It seemed identical to reality, but he would have to be more careful if he went out for a walk or flight. Looks could deceive.

"Hmm. Should I really be doing this...?" Gene muttered.

He was in practically unknown territory. These days he could wake up by himself if he got himself lost. But if he ran into something bad, he'd get an earful from Noll. After all, being in this state left his astral and corporeal body vulnerable. Being in an astral state, made it easier for spirits to approach him. On top of that, purifying spirits depended on his state of mind. It was even more difficult whenever he felt depressed. That's why he hardly approached any spirits of his own accord in the past months. However, Gene assumed he would have no trouble with it now. He managed to purify the school a couple of days ago and it turned out okay.

"Sorry, Noll. You're gonna miss out on something amazing."

Gene flew off the balcony and ascended into the sky.

"Not bad," he said. "Not bad at all. I should have done this earlier."

His eyes feasted at the sight. The sky was clear. Huge skyscrapers towered behind Shinjuku Station. The large garden in Shinjuku which they had visited had turned almost completely dark. …And that glowing thing in the far distance? That was unmistakably Tokyo Tower.

"God. This is so beautiful. I wish I could show this to Noll."

Gene sighed. It was wishful thinking. His brother would never see this.

Wait.

He could show it to _her_.

Gene shook his head. No, he had decided against going too far. Perhaps he would look for her one day. But not now. It would be bad if Noll tried to wake him up…

He looked down at the neighbourhood.

There were several karaoke bars further down the main street near the hotel, but it wasn't fun to hear people sing and not sing along himself. Wasn't there a cinema close by? He flew over to the main street. Back in Cambridge, Gene loved to take naps and catch the latest blockbusters without spending a single penny.

Suddenly, he stopped and slapped his fist against his palm.

"Wait, I have a better idea. How about the arcade!"

Gene grinned widely.

He could fiddle with the machines, help people get their toys and put a smile on their faces! And he knew exactly where to go…

* * *

Noll waited for Gene to fall asleep before paging through his notebook. His fingers stopped moving once the envelope came into view. Taking Haruka's letter had been a last-minute decision. He did not read it again after first time. Noll was loath to experience the series of precognitive visions again.

However, now that Gene's death had been prevented, he was curious about the contents of the letter.

Did the visions remain? Or did they no longer exist?

Noll pressed his finger against the envelope and focused.

 _Late evening. Cars. Tokyo. Envelope. Red mailbox in front of her. Hesitation. Doubt. Compassion. Doubt. Compassion. Doubt. Save her family. Doubt. Change._

Nothing about that post-cognitive vision had changed, so he proceeded to lift the flap of the envelope.

Noll stared at the letter for a moment before putting his fingers against it.

 _Blank paper. Pen. Writing. No hesitation. Friend._

Then _nothing_.

Although there was a faint trace of Haruka's person on both the envelope and the letter, the pull had considerably weakened. Noll could see the visions he had previously marked as psychometric, but none of the visions which he had experienced the very first time came to mind.

Noll let out a shaky breath and peered down at his brother.

Did Gene's 'nightmare' vanish along with the other premonitions? If not, he would see it soon.

He laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Noll remained like that for a half hour, but his brother continued sleeping. He bit his lip in frustration. Relief had washed over him for a short while, but the entire ordeal didn't sit well with him despite the good outcome.

Noll knew he had severely underestimated Haruka the moment he touched the book in Nagoya. She may not have been fully precognitive, but her predictive abilities were immensely powerful. In other words, that book was merely a show of her abilities. Haruka was similar to him, and yet she wasn't.

He needed to know more.

Noll opened his eyes and looked at Gene who slept soundly under the sheets. He wasn't bound to wake up until the next morning.

Noll got up and turned his attention again to the envelope.

He had his own way of countering her, even if she was a few steps ahead of him.

It was something only he could do. He had done this plenty of times when he tried to locate Gene's whereabouts. Usually, using any of his brother's belongings would do the trick.

He opened the envelope, touched the letter and focused on her current location.

Noll widened his eyes. _How did she...?_

Gene had been right. Someone had followed them... and it was _her_.

Noll got up and turned off the lights, then proceeded towards the entrance of the hotel.

After getting out of the lift, his eyes spotted a girl with long jet-black hair outside the entrance. She seemed to be completely alone.

Noll exited the hotel and stood in front of the girl.

The fair hair and pigtails had gone. She held big round glasses in her hands.

"Good evening, Oliver-san."

"...Mayumi."

The girl nodded and settled the frame on her nose.

"I wanted to talk to you and I thought you might want answers to your questions. I can provide them."

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Who are you exactly?"

"I think you already know," she said.

Noll sighed.

"So this is how you usually look like?"

The girl shrugged.

"Perhaps."

He folded his arms.

"You were the one who followed us around in Kyoto."

"Correct."

"And then you changed your disguise because Gene noticed you."

She let out an exaggerated sigh.

"...Your brother is quite the womanizer. It's bothersome. I had to change my disguise at least three times because of him."

He snorted. No wonder she seemed constantly irritated by Gene.

"You're Haruka Tooyama," Noll said. "How did you find us here?"

At the mention of her name, 'Mayumi' met his gaze.

"Back then I planted something on your shirt while you weren't looking."

Noll blinked.

"What?"

"It's bugged," Haruka pointed her hand at the back of her shirt. "Please dispose it after you return to your room."

Noll took a moment to let it sink in. She even used high tech. It must have happened at the bus stop.

"Why?"

"I got tired of following you two around the whole time," Haruka explained, "I apologize for taking that opportunity."

Noll recalled the man in the van who drove her to the bus stop. Could it be the doing of that person? Naturally, Haruka couldn't have done everything on her own. After all, she could not be older than Noll himself. That man had to be involved.

 _I must be careful._

"We stand out here," Haruka said, looking to the side. "Let's walk."

"Where do we talk?"

"Do you have any preference?"

He considered his options.

"Somewhere quiet, and close by" Noll said, "A public place. I'm sure you can find one."

Haruka took a moment to process this, then she turned around.

"Follow me."

Noll followed her out into the main street.

Haruka turned around the corner. Noll didn't think much of it until he realized that they were already in Kabukicho. He walked past this area with Gene many times during the day, but if he recalled correctly Madoka had warned not to hang around in this neighbourhood during the evenings. Noll couldn't help but feel irritated at Madoka's choice. If it bothered her that much, that why did she reserve a room close to -

Haruka suddenly stopped walking.

"That place will suit your taste. We can talk privately there."

Noll looked up at large round red neon letters. A karaoke establishment? He frowned at her choice.

"Here's a karaoke room without neighbours. It's a weekday so it's relatively quiet now."

That made somewhat sense.

"You don't like it? There's another one over there."

She pointed at somewhere further down the street.

"No, this will do."

They entered the building.

Haruka went up to the front desk and asked for a suitable room. Since a drink order was required, they ordered that too.

Then they entered the lift.

"We have one hour," Haruka said. She pushed the button of the fifth floor. "That should be enough."

Noll stared at the girl. Even when they first met her, she always struck him as incredibly confident.

"Have you ever been in a karaoke room?" she asked when the doors opened.

"Gene dragged me into one during our first week here."

"Really?" she said, clearly amused. "I thought you couldn't read Japanese?"

"Yes, it was quite useless," Noll said. "He ended up singing English songs."

He didn't know how he managed to suffer through that ordeal. In hindsight, it hadn't been necessary at all.

"You can't sing?"

"I don't sing."

Haruka lead him to the far end of the corridor. Most rooms seemed unoccupied.

The room assigned to them was one of the smaller ones in the corridor. A large table in the middle barely fit into the room. Noll sat down on the sofa opposite of Haruka, who seemed distracted by the food and drink menus on the table.

He decided to get straight to business.

"You saved my brother," Noll said, looking her in the eye. "But I can't trust you."

She leaned her back against the sofa with the food menu in her hand.

"I figured that would be the case."

"…You seem accustomed to using pseudonyms and disguises."

Haruka shrugged. "For better or worse, people seek me out."

"…Seek you out?"

"Because of my precognition. Surely you understand my situation?"

Noll bit his lips. Even now the SPR daily received letters from families of missing people who wanted him to use his psychometry. At one point his parents forbade him from indiscriminately taking on requests, so these days he only took on special requests.

The fact that Haruka had a similar experience didn't surprise Noll.

"Yes."

Haruka gave a sigh of relief before continuing.

"I've been advised not to use my real name for a while."

"But you wrote your real name on the letter. You put yourself at risk."

Noll pulled the folded envelope from the pocket of his trousers. He put it on the table, sliding it to the opposite side.

Haruka blinked and took the envelope in her hands.

"You kept it..."

She opened it and took the letter out.

"I… I wanted to make sure you would trust me."

"I see," Noll said. "Speaking of names, how were you able to identify me in your predictions?"

She looked up at him with a calm gaze.

"You used PK and what appeared to be psychometry in some of my predictions. Your abilities are publicly known. Secondly, the initials of your office will be SPR... It didn't take long for me to make the connection," Haruka said, then placed the letter on the table, "but I cannot know everything. The further away, the more muddled it becomes. For example, I didn't know Eugene was your identical twin brother."

He gave a small grin. "That isn't public knowledge."

"It surprised me..." Haruka put a hand against her forehead and sighed. "In any case, I knew your trip would occur this year. All what was left to do is track the names of UK passengers and find your names."

His eyes narrowed.

"But you seem to be around my age. How did you accomplish such a feat?"

Haruka expressed a sheepish smile.

"I know this sounds suspicious, but…I have connections."

Noll frowned.

"How many are involved other than you?"

"Only one. But apart from that, they are not involved." Haruka paused to stare at her wristwatch. "It's taking long for our drinks to arrive."

Noll ignored her complaint and drummed a finger against the table.

"Is it the man who brought you to the bus stop?"

"...Yeah. I asked him to do various things for me, but he doesn't know much else. I'm doing this for personal reasons you see." Haruka turned her head to the door. Someone knocked. "Oh, there it is!"

She got up and went over to the door. A waiter came in and handed over two tall glasses of iced tea with lemon and plenty of ice cubes.

The door closed again.

"I picked my favourite," Haruka said, and smiled brightly. "By the way, I will pay for everything including the drinks."

Noll shrugged. "Be my guest."

After placing the drinks on the table, Haruka sat down and started stirring the long spoon in her glass.

"Anyway, I needed to know your habits for a better reading. That's why I followed you around to get a rough grasp on your schedule. I knew Gene would have died if he went alone, but I didn't know _when_ it would happen."

Noll frowned and took his own glass in his hands.

"Then why did you intervene despite my presence?"

She sipped through the neon green straw before answering his question.

"…Do you want to know?" Haruka said.

Her facial expression was serious.

"Yes."

"…You won't like to hear it."

"I don't mind."

Haruka leaned back against the sofa again, closed her eyes and recounted her predictions.

"There were several possibilities. One. You pass out at the bus stop and your brother takes care of you. Two. Your brother leaves without you and dies. His body is taken away. Three. You go together, but one dies instantly and the other is injured... but dies at the hands of the driver."

Noll put the glass back on the table.

 _What…_

She paused before continuing.

"Four. One gets hit by the car and the other is uninjured. A fight with the driver ensues, ... the driver is critically injured. The bus arrives at the scene and..."

Her voice had trailed off. He was no longer looking at her. He couldn't look her in the eye anymore.

"Actually, I really don't care to talk about what would have happened next."

Noll could barely bring himself to speak. "…You saw all of that?"

"I had hoped your future would have changed enough to avoid a similar situation. That's why I had to step in."

That's because he left all the planning to Gene. Just the thought that Haruka saw those predictions unfold made Noll sick to the stomach. It was a needless experiment. His curiosity got the best out of him. Gene was a fool for getting into such a dangerous situation in the first place, but he himself was no better.

He gritted his teeth.

 _An idiot scientist. I'm an idiot scientist._

"I'm sorry," Noll muttered.

"Why?"

Haruka looked out of the window when Noll didn't reply.

"For better or worse, I'm used to it. The only consolation I have is that those visions can be prevented."

A weak smile appeared on her face.

Noll looked away from her drank from the iced tea. A sweet peach flavour. It wasn't bad, but it wouldn't be his first choice.

He continued, "But you didn't send the letter to save Gene."

"Correct."

"…I suppose I owe you something."

Haruka shook her head.

"For some reason, saving Gene would mean I could potentially save you. I don't want anything else if that guarantees my friend's happiness..."

Noll frowned. Haruka had predicted his death. That meant she'd at least seen all events up until then. But did she see the same as Gene?

"I would die an early death."

Haruka nodded.

"I did it because my friend would be devastated and lose her only family," Haruka said. Her smile faded. "She's an orphan."

Noll took a moment to process this. That girl is an orphan? He was starting to understand where Haruka was coming from.

"What do you mean by 'family'?"

"A familial connection. ...It doesn't necessarily mean that you become related to her by traditional means, such as marriage or adoption. Sometimes you simply share a connection with a group of people... something beyond friends or being related by blood," Haruka explained and continued, "In the past predictions I saw you fall... ill for several times after using PK. You ended up in the hospital a couple of times. Then later you spent a very long time in a hospital. I didn't see you anymore after. I presume you… died at some point."

Noll remembered the hospital vision Gene told him about. If his PK went out of control without Gene around, or if he used PK in great amounts, what would happen to his body? There had been a time when he lost control over his abilities and was rendered ill in bed for nearly a year. Was it a similar case? Perhaps even worse?

"You saw more?"

Haruka held up a hand.

"I have no obligation to tell you anything about her dissolved future. It's no longer applicable."

He leaned back and folded his arms.

"I presume you did this without her knowledge."

She looked straight into his eyes.

"Oliver-san… What would you have done if you saw a tragedy waiting to happen?" Her voice contained no hesitation. "Before I acted on these predictions I asked her, "If you could go back in time, would you save your only family?" and she replied that she would."

Noll smiled a little.

"…You're altruistic. Do you prevent tragedies the whole time?"

Haruka went quiet and started stirring the spoon in her glass.

Noll assumed she wasn't going to divulge on the subject and drank his iced tea.

It took a long time for her to speak again.

"I... I became an orphan because of my precognition. I don't wish to see the people around me suffer, not when I _can_ be of some importance."

He scratched the back of his head.

"I suppose she must be lucky to have a friend like you."

She shook her head.

"No, I'm only a cog in the wheel. Honestly, I wish I could be a better friend, but my circumstances don't allow me to retain those bonds," Haruka said and made a sad smile. "You're the one who brings everyone together."

Noll snorted.

"I'm not that kind of person. Gene is."

"Even if you say so, you will meet her in time. The others as well."

"What do you mean?"

"You already made your decision before coming here. And you won't back out of it. Your brother will make sure of it," she said, smiling, then she cocked her head to the side. "By the way, I'm curious. How much did you see of my precognitive visions?"

Noll glanced at her for a few seconds before responding.

"Quite a lot, too much sometimes. Different versions blend and diverge constantly in succession. I can barely tell them apart. The further along, the blurrier it gets. How is it for you?"

"Hmm. It may be difficult to comprehend, but the different futures occur at the same time. I usually see each one very clearly."

He sighed. Perhaps his brain could barely handle it.

"In any case, there was precognitive vision - or at least parts of it - imprinted on the book you gave to Gene."

Haruka blinked.

"Is that how you got out that easily?"

Noll nodded.

"It was an old school building. Thanks to you we managed to purify the building without any trouble. Though I'm sure we would have succeeded even if we had been locked in," he said. "You were able to predict our near future just by us company for a few hours and holding onto the book."

The prediction occurred one day ahead. It told him everything about what could have occurred if they had entered the building.

"Yes, I saw that just before we arrived at our destination," she sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "You must have seen a lot in my letter. I hoped it would only tell you the crucial parts, but it's amazing that you could pick up on that much."

He looked away.

"I stopped at one point. It became… too difficult for me to handle."

Haruka nodded.

"I understand. It is overwhelming to take that much in. As for me, I didn't experience these visions on a single moment."

Well, that explained a lot, Noll thought.

"I would see something of her future every time we met. I don't understand why, but it was so easy and natural to pick up on glimpses of her future. Even at the beginning of our friendship. It felt like we _connected_ on a different level."

"Haruka-san, I have a question… have you ever seen a ghost?"

Haruka was taken aback for a moment, but she instantly answered.

"No?"

She didn't seem to be lying.

"Have you ever had an OBE?"

Haruka raised an eyebrow.

"OBE?"

He sighed. "Out of body experience."

The girl shook her head.

"Then forget what I said. I know enough now."

Haruka grimaced.

"What was that all about?"

He shrugged. "Just checking the extent of your ESP abilities, which only seems to be precognitive clairvoyance"

Her nose wrinkled.

"You really are a scientist, aren't you? One ability is enough."

Noll smirked a little and drank the last of his iced tea.

"Anyway, there's something I need to tell you before we part ways," Haruka said, and folded the letter, "I wouldn't hold onto anything you saw in that letter. The future has changed significantly."

"Of course," he said, "but is it enough to evade an early death?"

"I…"

She stopped talking.

Haruka looked straight at him. Maybe even right through his being. Her expression didn't change.

The letter crumpled in her hands. Her face paled.

"I'm, I'm sorry. I don't understand. I-"

She pressed her lips together in a hard line.

His brows drew together. "What?"

"It's... already set in motion."

Noll widened his eyes.

"My... death?"

She put the letter back in the envelope without saying anything.

"What is it? Tell me."

She spoke one word.

"Crows."

"Crows?"

"That's the word that comes to mind." Her shoulders trembled. "If you want, I can try again."

He'd heard this sentence somewhere else before. No one had stopped him back then.

"No."

"...You don't have to look again. You've seen enough."

She slowly nodded.

"I should let you know that this might be one of the few times we can meet. If I meet with someone too often, I might cause them trouble. Especially if it's someone remarkable like you."

"Remarkable?"

"Are your referring to my abilities?"

"Yes." She nodded. "And I promised my current caretakers to live a lowkey life from now on."

"I understand. As I see it, our abilities are like two sides of the same coin. In that case, it's best not to interfere much."

"If you say so," Haruka said, "But perhaps you might figure it out what the vision means."

Haruka slid the envelope back to his side.

Noll looked down and took the envelope from the table.

"One more thing... Don't let your brother become part of the office for a while."

The branch office?

"Why?"

"It's for the better. You and your brother are well known here among certain circles. Some of your future associates will become quickly aware of your identities... Even more so if you and your brother cooperate."

"I'm already conscious of that."

"Revealing your identities too quickly will work against you in the long run."

"Is this related to the 'crows'?"

"...I can't say," Haruka said, and forced smile. "Anyway, thanks for stopping me. Sometimes it's too much to take."

Noll shrugged lightly.

"It's no problem."

They quietly left the room. The other booths had started to fill up. They could hear the songs and voices of the occupants from the door.

Noll waited for her outside the karaoke building while she paid.

When Haruka returned to his side, he asked: "Will we meet again?"

"Uh. I don't know."

"Surely you must be able to predict your own future."

She smiled uneasily.

"Do you really want to know?"

Noll nodded.

Her eyes closed.

"...There is someone who looks like you."

"Me or Gene?"

She pouted.

"...Oliver-san, I can barely tell the difference between you and your brother. Let alone when you're older."

"How much older?"

Haruka shrugged.

"Early twenties? It's an unreliable guess."

"I see."

"Well, at the very least you won't have to worry about your future looks..."

He resisted a powerful urge to roll his eyes.

Haruka turned into the direction of Kabukicho and paused.

"One more thing. The future is in a constant flux, everchanging... The unseen factors will surprise you. They may even come from the people you know very well." The girl stepped away from him. "Goodbye Doctor Davis."

Noll watched her vanish into the crowds.

Then he turned in the opposite direction and walked.

What Haruka said didn't bring him relief at all. It wasn't as if he completely trusted her, but if the new prediction were to come true...

No, Gene was still here. Still alive.

And.

 _The future is in a constant flux, everchanging._

Despite the words of comfort, Noll didn't want to return to the hotel right away; he needed more time to process this. He took a walk around the block. The air was still warm, but refreshing compared to the daytime in this sultry summer.

Noll stopped in the middle of a near empty street and closed his eyes.

The crows cawed on the roofs above him.

* * *

When he returned to the hotel room, the lights were on.

Gene sat at the edge of the bed with his back hunched over.

 _Something's wrong._

"Gene..."

His brother looked up at him with a hard expression.

"Where _were_ you?"

"I took a walk," he said, poker-faced.

"A walk?" Gene huffed and glanced down at his side. "With that letter?"

Noll stared down at the envelope in his hand. His jaw tightened.

"Yes."

Gene walked up to Noll and glowered at him suspiciously.

"You met her, didn't you?"

* * *

 **Author's note**

It's been almost three months since I updated. Thanks for your patience!

Haruka Tooyama is a main character of Until Death Do Us Part, a sci-fi action manga. It's not necessary to read it. For those who did read it: she is taken a year after the main events of the manga have transpired. I consider Haruka as the catalyst for the canon divergence, but on the whole she won't play a major role. She's merely another psychic in this universe.


	9. Transfers

**Chapter 8: Transfers**

 **Tokyo, August 2006**

Noll let out a sigh. There was no point in hiding it.

"She found us."

Gene blinked at his outright admission.

"Huh?"

Noll took this moment to walk past him. He kneeled down in front of his backpack and went through all of his shirts until he found the offending device.

"What are you doing?"

"She found us." Noll held up a small metallic item. "With this."

"What?" Gene took it out of his hand. "I don't get it, When did this happen?"

He stood up again.

"You were right. Someone did follow us around in Yokohama and Kyoto, and it was Haruka."

This answer appeared to give Gene a sense of gratification. His eyes glittered.

"So I wasn't imagining it!"

"Indeed."

He smiled.

"How did she look like? Was she... pretty?"

Noll frowned at his questions. "Idiot. That's of no importance. Haruka disguised herself."

"Why would she disguise herself?"

He sighed. "Put yourself in her position. With an ability like hers, she may even attract top criminals all over the world."

Gene's smile dropped.

"Criminals?"

He shrugged.

"People might want to use her to win lotteries and the like. It's easy to think they would want to use her for financial gains."

"No way... That's just sad."

"Haruka put herself... and us at risk."

Gene scowled.

"If it was that much of a danger, then why didn't you call out to me?"

"I can't put both of us in danger."

"But-"

Noll shook his head.

"If something had happened to me, I could at least reach out to you for help."

Gene was not satisfied.

"Noll, you can't leave me out of this." Noll took the device out of Gene's hand. "Wait, what are you-"

Noll crushed it inside his palm.

"Ah." Gene's mouth fell open.

"She won't need this anymore." Noll put it in the bin, then happen to notice something on the table. A lighter? "Why is this here?"

He reached out, but Gene grabbed it before he could touch it.

"Nothing. I found this on the balcony. I'm going to hand this to the receptionist tomorrow morning." Gene put it on the night table next to his bed.

"I see..." Noll frowned.

Suspicious.

"So, uh, let me confirm something. What about Haruka's height? That's not something she could easily fake."

His behavior was strange, but Noll decided against asking further.

He pointed a finger at his shoulder. "At least a head shorter than us."

"She was definitely that girl at the temple..."

Gene sat down on the bed.

"Why did she wait to meet with you until now?

Noll sat down as well and weaved his fingers together.

"To confirm the future we are now facing," he said. "She wanted to see if it was right..."

Gene grabbed his shoulder without warning.

"Wait, hold on. She had another vision? About you?"

He frowned at the hand and pulled it off. "Yes."

"What did she see?"

"Crows."

Gene tilted his head.

"Crows?"

"Apparently, that was the only word that came to her mind."

"Literally or figuratively?"

"What do you think?"

Gene crossed his legs on the bed and pondered.

"...In the most literal sense of the word, the birds? The big ones or small ones?"

"What?"

His brother almost shouted.

"Did you see the crows in Shibuya? They were _huge_. They're nothing like the crows back home!"

Noll winced at his loud voice. He remembered very well.

Though they had seen the crows in the trees of Shinjuku's park, they only saw the birds up close for the first time in an alleyway of Shibuya. The crows were picking at a plastic bag with food scraps until they were chased away by an irritated shopkeeper.

"Yes, but I don't think she was speaking of literal crows. She seemed... confused."

Gene folded his arms.

"Then what about crows as a metaphor. It would explain her confusion."

"I see. So you arrive at the same point. The words of William James."

"Who else?" Gene smirked. "After all, there's no greater treasure than a 'white crow'."

Noll sighed.

The old men in the Society for Psychical Research continually harped on about their psychic abilities. The twins were considered to be the 'White Crows' of SPR. The term was coined by a man named William James, who once said; "To upset the conclusion that all crows are black, there is no need to seek demonstration that no crow is black; it is sufficient to produce one white crow; a single one is sufficient."

Even if the two of them were 'white crows', neither Noll or Gene had the intention of getting caught in a neverending cycle of experiments. Noll saw enough of it after a year since he was discovered to be a 'white crow'. Those experiments served no purpose other than gratifying the whims of the old guard.

"If the vision concerns myself, then it would be easy to use that metaphor."

"But what _did_ she see? If Haruka did not understand, then we might."

They looked down at the envelope in Noll's hand.

"Oh, I see. You brought it to her on purpose."

Noll smirked at him.

"I don't know if it works."

 _I don't know if I want to see it._

However, Gene looked optimistic.

"We could try."

Noll furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you mean 'we'?"

"You could show me. Transfer the vision to me."

Gene stared into his eyes.

"Please Noll. If it's about you, then I need to know about it."

"Gene..."

His brother leaned forward.

"I have to see it. What if we see different things?"

Noll shook his head.

"It won't happen. She used it on me."

"Come on, Noll. I have to know what happens to you."

"It's not definite."

"I know that, I just-"

"You're scared."

Gene widened his eyes, then looked down at his hands.

"...Yes."

"...Fine then," he said with some reluctance.

Noll sat himself on his bed and opened the envelope in his hand. Gene positioned himself in front of him. He grabbed Noll's shoulders and pulled him closer until they could hear each other's breaths. Noll hovered his fingertips over the paper.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

He closed his eyes.

There was a very strong pull on the letter. It sucked him in. The feeling was different, fresh, and faraway.

 _A notebook. A pair of weary gloves. A battered door. Boxes everywhere. Gathered by crows. Each from one crow. No knives. I'm done for today. Just stay away._

Noll stared up at the ceiling with Gene lying still on top of him. He was caught in a tight embrace. Someone breathed hard into his ear. Then a sob.

 _...I don't understand._

 _I don't want this._

 _Stay here with me._

 _I'm scared._

He wasn't sure whether it was Gene or himself who thought that. His mind was muddled with various thoughts. Foreign emotions had slipped in. He remembered every detail of that vision, and yet he did not understand. He did not want to understand. He did not want to explore the possibility of that happening in the future.

It was the fear of not knowing what was to come.

His hands moved on their own accord to Gene's back. The pillow was wet with tears.

 _I shouldn't have shown him._

His eyelids closed and he entered a deep sleep.

 _I should never show him again..._

Hours later, Noll awoke in the early morning light. There was a faint smell of burning paper. The light came from the balcony where a boy stood.

 _Gene..._

Gene looked down at the lighter in his hand.

Noll widened his eyes.

 _Did he just...?_

The envelope was already nowhere to be seen.

Gene held up the letter in his other hand. Soon after, the letter smoldered away and scattered in the wind.

 _Too late._

Noll closed his eyes again.

No, he should not depend on her any longer.

He could only hope for a change outside of Haruka's scope.

* * *

 **Tokyo, October 2006**

Christopher descended the stairs from his home to the shop on the first floor. His younger sister Yumi followed closely after him, humming to the melody of a pop song.

"Good morning," they said to the middle-aged man behind the counter. He looked up and pointed at the boxes in front of him.

"Lunch."

"Thanks dad."

Christopher took his lunch box and put it in his shoulder bag.

"Dad. Who dropped by just now?" Yumi asked, taking her own lunch box.

They had heard the chime ringing downstairs while eating breakfast in the morning. It was the only unusual event on an otherwise ordinary school day.

"Kawamoto-san," their father said.

Kawamoto and their father Taichi belonged to the neighbour association.

Christopher and Yumi exchanged looks with each other. Why was that guy still coming over here?

"Is it about the rumor?" Yumi asked.

Taichi nodded.

"Some people did move into the empty flat over the weekend."

"Seriously?" Christopher blanched. "This soon? It's only been a year."

His sister cringed. "Ewww. I wouldn't want to live there."

Taichi frowned at her.

"Yumi!"

She backed off with a grin.

"Sorry. I'm going. Hurry, Junya. You'll be late!"

Yumi dashed through the door and took the bike stalled outside the shop. They watched her ride away. Father sighed and muttered something incomprehensible. Christopher took this as a cue to leave as well, but his father continued to speak.

"They probably don't know," he said, and leaned over the counter. "I heard they're foreigners."

Christopher turned to look over his shoulder.

"A foreign family? That's not unusual though. Some of Yumi's classmates live in that flat building too."

Father shook his head.

"It's not a family. They're three young men."

Christopher raised an eyebrow.

 _Now that is unusual._

"...Did Kawamoto-san see them?"

He shrugged. "I don't think so."

"Hmm. Must be the cheap rent..." Christopher muttered to himself. He pulled the door open.

Ten minutes later he arrived in the classroom. He had a window seat in the back, right behind his friends. After seating himself, Christopher yawned out loud.

The boy in front of him grinned over his shoulder.

"Stayed up all night, eh?"

"Shut up, Owen."

The short girl next to Owen turned as well.

"World of Warcraft?"

"My cousin in Glasgow wanted to play."

His cousin had come over to Japan this summer and got him into playing World of Warcraft.

Owen grimaced. "Again? Doesn't he have any friends over there?"

Devi chuckled.

"I think it's the other way around."

"Yes, very funny." Christopher rolled his eyes. He glanced to the front of the classroom. "Anyway, what's taking so long to start -"

Devi gave him a look. "Transfer student, remember?"

"Oh, shit. I forgot."

"You forgot? You're finally getting a neighbour," she said, "I was starting to feel bad for you!"

Christopher stared down at the empty table next to him. Truthfully, he was wary about dealing with a new neighbour. What if he turned out to be a twat?

"I'd rather not."

Devi scoffed. "Christopher. Do yourself a favor and get a new friend."

He groaned.

"Stick your damn nose elsewhere."

Owen put a hand on her shoulder.

"That's not nice, Devi... He can hang out with us anytime."

She shrugged and turned around without a word. Owen made an apologetic smile.

Christopher sighed and stared at the door.

Ever since Owen and Devi started dating at the end of the previous school year, their time spent together as a group of friends had decreased, as expected. He simply had to get used to the new situation, but still... it didn't mean he'd have to make new friends just because of them. It was only a pain because he wasn't close to anyone else at school apart from them and his childhood friend Takeo. Takeo went to the same school, but he was in Upper Sixth. On top of that they barely shared any hobbies.

"So. What do we know about this guy?" Christopher said. "Other than what they told us."

Few things were known about the transfer student.

Firstly, he was male and had lived in England. Secondly, the boy would transfer in at the beginning of October. As a result, the seat next to Christopher had remained empty since the start of the school year last month.

"I heard his GCSE marks were off the charts," Owen said.

"Seriously?"

"I overheard Mrs Cuningham raving about him last week. He must be a bookworm."

It was unusual for someone to transfer in one month into Lower Sixth. It would have to take a person with very good reputation and grades to get accepted this easily - at least, that's what they had heard.

"Hey." Devi turned around again. "Take your chance. He's new, so he's in need of friends too. So you can nerd it out together!"

"Shut up."

The door opened. His classmates went silent. Mrs Cuningham had arrived.

"Good morning, class. As I announced to you last month, you will have a new classmate joining you today." She turned her head. "Well, come in. Don't be shy."

Everyone in class held their breaths.

Their new classmate passed through the doorway. A mop of silky black hair partially covered his pale-skinned profile. Though he appeared to be Asian, he seemed rather tall for his age.

The boy stopped next to Mrs Cuningham and turned on his heel.

The girls gasped. The boys stared. No one could take their eyes off him.

They had expected a nerd with average looks, but not _this_.

His face was extraordinarily beautiful. His eyes were dark and his long eyelashes contrasted sharply against the whiteness of his skin. He was still rather boyish, but even Christopher could tell that he would grow up to be a very handsome man.

"Wow," Devi whispered. "He's gorgeous."

Christopher didn't look half bad himself, but that that kind of face made him abandon any aspiration of becoming a model. It was nearly unreal how good-looking he was.

"Dear students, this is Eugene Davis."

Christopher blinked.

 _The name doesn't match his looks..._

That in itself wasn't unusual at this school, but it always peaked his curiosity.

"Eugene had outstanding GSCE marks at his previous school in Cambridge. Ranked second in his last year-"

While Mrs Cuningham rattled on about the new boy, everyone in class started whispering.

"He's hot."

"Is he a model?"

"He looks like he could be an idol."

The teacher coughed to get the class's attention. "Now, please introduce yourself."

Eugene appeared to be taken aback by Mrs Cuningham's unnecessary introduction, but quickly recovered himself. With a soft voice he started to speak. Everyone went silent.

"Uh, good morning. My name is Eugene Davis, but you can call me Gene if you like. I'm from Cambridge and I came here with my family who will be working here in Tokyo. I hope to get along with you all."

Then he flashed a drop-dead gorgeous smile, which earned more whispers and giggles from the girls in the classroom. It was a brief introduction, but he made a good impression.

No one in his classroom stood out in terms of looks and intelligence, so when someone walked in who had these properties in spades the dams broke through easily. If Christopher had been a level 25 magician, Eugene Davis would be a level 99 knight.

"Good. Any empty seats here?" The teacher called out, looking over the classroom.

"Here." Christopher held up a hand.

"Ah, next to Christopher. The girl in front of him is Devi. She's the Vice Chair of the Student Union. Feel free to ask her for information about the school if anything's unclear."

Eugene nodded.

"I will."

He walked to the back of the backroom. The class became noisy. Multiple girls in the aisle blushed and gawked. He pulled the chair out of the table next to Christopher, and sat himself.

Christopher stuck out a hand. "I'm Christopher Arakawa. Nice to meet you."

Eugene took his hand and gave it a firm and brief shake. "Eugene. It's pleasure."

Devi turned around.

"I'm Devi. If you have any questions, please ask right away!"

"Thanks, I appreciate it!"

"And this is Owen. My boyfriend."

He turned and gave Eugene a short handshake.

"Owen Hayward." Owen briefly glanced at Christopher. "By the way, Christopher is in charge of guiding male students around this place."

Christopher frowned.

"Since when?"

"Just now," Owen said. "As of this year we're in a new building. Help him locate all mens' toilets."

Christopher groaned.

The British School in Tokyo had moved to a newly renovated accommodation on the campus of the Showa Women's University in August. So they all had to get used to the new building.

Eugene laughed. "Oh yeah, I noticed that!"

"We used to be in Shibuya, but the place got too crowded to accommodate all students." Devi explained. "The school now has two campuses."

"Christopher got lucky because he lives nearby," Owen said. "I have to travel further to the campus now. It sucks."

Eugene turned his head to Christopher and was about to say something, but at that moment the teacher clapped.

"Class is starting. Pay attention!"

In class, Eugene never hesitated to speak up or ask questions. Every time he did or said something, he had the class's attention. He seemed friendly and charismatic. In other words, it looked like he would fit right in. Unlike Devi's prediction, Eugene would have no trouble making friends. He didn't seem like a bookworm or nerd at all.

The lessons passed uneventfully.

However, lunch break was a different story.

Before Christopher could even speak to him, half of the class surrounded their table at once. Girls and boys started bombarding him with questions. Their new classmate responded in kind and basked in their attention for at least five whole minutes. Owen and Devi joined in, but Christopher couldn't do much else than listen. He tried to think of questions of his own, but others claimed them before him. It got annoying after a while, so he gave up on asking anything.

This is what he garnered from the conversations: Eugene was born in the United States and lived in Cambridge in the UK since he was eight years old. Though he looked fully Asian, Eugene was quarter Irish and three-quarters Japanese. That would explain his full Western name. His mother worked as a dental assistant and his father taught law at Cambridge University. When asked if he had siblings, he replied that he had a brother who recently started to work as a researcher in Japan. That seemed rather unusual; most students came to Japan with their parents. Eugene had laughed, saying he took the opportunity to come here with his brother, because he liked Japan so much. Then the boys asked what sports Eugene did, which was football and skateboarding. They excitedly asked him to join their team.

Christopher had no interest in the subject. Normally, he would try to tune out the conversation, but it was too noisy.

So he rose from his chair, towering over the other classmates. It caught their attention at once. Everyone looked up to him. Eugene's eyes went wide, perhaps noticing for the first time how tall his neighbour was.

"Sorry guys. Nature is calling."

Their classmates made some space. Christopher escaped the crowd and made his way to the door.

"Wait, Christopher!"

He turned around.

It was Eugene. His new classmate had somehow managed to disperse the crowd and had left his own seat without much trouble. Their classmates scattered into their own corners of the class or began to leave the room as well.

"...Could you show me around a little?"

"Alright." Christopher said. "I thought you were going to stay here."

Eugene laughed a little.

"Haha, as much as I'd like to keep answering their questions, I think that would take up all of my break. And... I need to go too."

Christopher turned.

"Okay. I'll show you to the toilets."

After taking Eugene to the toilets, which wasn't far or hidden - Owen was exaggerating, Christopher showed him around the school.

Walking around with Eugene turned out to be an experience in itself. Heads turned on every corner. It almost felt like he was walking an unicorn in the hallways of the school.

After going outside for an view of the school grounds, Eugene started a conversation.

"So you live nearby..."

Christopher nodded.

"Yeah, I do. Somewhere in Sangenjaya. It's not far from here."

Eugene's eyes gleamed.

"Me too. We could be neighbours!"

"Really? Where's your place?"

He expressed a sheepish smile. "I can't remember the exact address, but there's a Seven Eleven opposite our flat."

Christopher paused. It did sound like a place he knew.

 _Could it be...?_

"Hmm, then do you know Arakawa donuts?"

"No? It doesn't ring a bell."

 _It wasn't...?_

"That's my father's shop. My family and I live on the second floor."

Eugene grinned.

"Oh. I'll make sure to pay it a visit!"

"Cool. Want to come over after school?"

"Sure!"

* * *

After school ended, Christopher and Eugene headed to Sangenjaya neighbourhood by foot. As it turned out, Eugene was a perfectly normal person and easy to get along with. Thankfully, he wasn't a twat as Christopher had feared.

"Hey Christopher, do you know of any part-time jobs I could do? Preferably somewhere close to home."

"Part-time jobs?" Christopher said. "How about modelling?"

It was the first thing that came to mind, but Eugene seemed uncertain.

"Modelling?"

"Yeah, I think it would make a lot of money. And there are tons of agencies in Shibuya."

"...I don't think it's possible for me."

"Huh? Why not?"

Eugene gave him a half-smile.

"...My family wouldn't allow it," he said. "Besides, I don't want to depend on my face too much."

"I see..."

That was a reasonable explanation, so he dropped the subject. Christopher himself was never approached by a modelling scout, but his younger sister had been. Yumi was flattered, but she had turned down the offer for the same reason. Not to mention she was too young.

Eventually Eugene and Christopher stopped in front of the cafe.

The name plate on the window said: _Arakawa Donuts_.

"Oh! It's smaller than I thought it would be."

Christopher grinned.

"The selection is great though."

He opened the door.

His father stood behind the counter. As usual, Christopher resumed to speaking in Japanese.

"I'm back." Christopher announced. He gazed at the back of the cafe. No one was there.

Eugene followed after him.

"Good afternoon!"

Taichi nodded at him.

"Your friend?"

"My name is Eugene Davis. I'm Christopher's classmate."

"He sits next to me," Christopher added.

"Oh, where are you from?"

"From Cambridge. I just moved here in the weekend."

His father's eyes widened. Christopher could already see his grey mass working.

 _Not now._

"Dad. He's looking for work."

Father looked from his son to Eugene.

"Work?"

"Perhaps here?"

"Hmm..." Father scratched beneath his chin. "How's your Japanese?"

"My Japanese? I'm fluent, I guess."

"How about reading?" Christopher asked. "You said you're doing Japanese A levels, right?"

Eugene grinned.

"Well, I'm... working on it. I've mastered the kana and I can read about fifty kanji."

He seemed proud of himself, but Christopher gaped.

"Only fifty? Will you be okay?"

Eugene laughed a little.

"My memory is good, so I'm not worried about it?"

At that moment, the door opened.

"I'm home~!"

The boys turned. It was Yumi. She stopped as soon as she saw Eugene.

"Oh, that's my daughter Yumi," Taichi said. "Yumi. This is Junya's classmate."

She stood stock-still in the door. Eugene smiled warmly at her.

"Hello! I'm Eugene Davis."

"I'm... Yumi!" she squeaked, and looked down at the floor. "N-nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

Christopher sighed. She always got shy around new people.

Father seemed amused.

"Well?" Taichi said. "Why don't you work here? You speak Japanese and can read a bit, why don't you start as soon as possible?"

"Really?" Eugene exclaimed. "Is this okay?"

"He's... going to work here?" Yumi said with a tiny voice.

Father nodded. "The other part-timer left a while ago, and Christopher took over from her."

"I prefer to work in the kitchen though," Christopher said. "It would be a load off my back if you could take care of the front. How about it?"

"O-of course! I'll do it," Eugene said.

"Yeah," Christopher said. "Come with me."

He took Eugene to the back.

"You will work behind the counter with my dad and do waiting at these tables. The place isn't big, but it can get busy during the weekends and afternoons."

He took a menu off the table.

"Yumi."

"Yes?"

"Can you copy these for Eugene? He'll need to memorize these before he can start working."

"Sure..." She took the menu and shuffled onto the stairs.

In the meanwhile, Eugene and Taichi talked about the details.

Christopher took over at the counter. As usual, it was rather quiet.

Ever since that incident, regulars to the cafe and even the amount of visitors had dwindled in this part of the neighbourhood. How rumors could spread...

After an half hour, they stood outside. Eugene had a copied menu and a box of donuts in his hand. He smiled brightly.

"Christopher, how could I ever thank you? I was really worried about looking for a part-time job."

"It's no problem."

If anything, they were lucky. Eugene was the type of person who could attract people to the cafe.

"So, your name is Junya?"

"Ah. That's my other name. They call me that at home. Everywhere except for school and the other side of the family, I guess."

They walked into the direction of the Seven Eleven.

"I should take Noll to the cafe sometime..."

"Noll?"

"Oh, that's Oliver. My brother's nickname."

"That's a strange nickname... You don't call him Ollie?"

Eugene laughed.

"He would strangle me if I called him Ollie!" he said.

"Where does Noll come from?

"Apparently, Noll is derived from 'Mine Oliver.' One of the delivery nurses gave him that nickname," Eugene explained.

They stopped in front of the Seven Eleven. Eugene looked opposite the street. A tall dark grey flat and a shorter light-green flat.

"Wow, we're practically neighbours."

"Really? Which one is your flat?"

"The grey one."

"...Ah."

Foreigners moved into that flat. Three young men. This weekend.

"Huh, something wrong?"

Christopher forced a smile.

 _I need some coffee._

"No, you're right. It's really close," he said. "Anyway, I'm going to buy a drink."

"Alright. See you tomorrow in class!"

"Bye."

Eugene turned around and crossed the street.

Christopher sighed and entered the Seven Eleven. The convenience store was empty save for the woman at the counter. He bought a can of coffee and exited the store.

Staring out in front of him, he opened the can and drank from it. The right kind of bitterness for this moment.

"Wait, isn't that..."

He squinted. His eyes had caught a glimpse of Eugene in front of the grey flat building.

He appeared to be talking to someone near the entrance of the flat building. But Christopher couldn't see anyone due to the cars parked in front.

"Is he on the phone...?"

There was a kind smile on Eugene's face.

Christopher frowned.

Eugene seemed unusually expressive for someone who was on the phone. His head was inclined downward. Ah. It looked more like he was talking down to someone. A child? The conversation ended. Eugene turned around and entered the building.

 _That's right. Today is Monday. It should be around this time..._

Christopher stepped away from the Seven Eleven to get a better view of the child. An elementary school girl stood there.

He caught a glimpse of her dull eyes.

Suddenly she blinked, in confusion. The girl looked to the left and right, then frowned and shrugged. She ran off and disappeared in one of the other streets.

Christopher frowned.

"What the hell was that?"

* * *

Gene closed the door behind him and took his shoes off.

After arriving in Tokyo, they had spent the whole weekend buying furniture as the flat came empty. Otherwise, the flat itself was relatively cheap. Gene had hoped it would be haunted, but so far he didn't notice anything strange about it. Neither did Noll.

"I'm home~" Gene said.

He entered the living room, but Lin and Noll didn't even look up from their laptops.

"Hey, isn't anybody going to say 'okaeri' or 'okaerinasai' like in real Japanese homes?"

Lin didn't bother replying. His entire focus was on the laptop.

Gene twitched an eyebrow and looked at his brother.

"...Noll, as my only brother... You can provide me the full Japanese family experience!"

"Stupid," Noll said. "I'm busy."

"Please?"

Noll sent a sharp glare into his direction.

"I'm not going to greet you differently just because we're in a different country now."

Gene winced. He had a point.

"Ugh. So cold... And isn't anyone going to ask me how my first day at school was...?"

Neither made an attempt, so Gene sighed and headed to the kitchen.

"Suit yourselves! I won't share these delicious donuts with you guys."

He put the box with four donuts on top of the counter.

After pulling out a can of grape juice from the fridge, Gene returned to other two. They were seated at the dinner table.

"So how's the search for office space going? Found anything worthwhile?"

"Reasonably," Lin said and sighed. "We simply need to narrow it down. Noll?"

"Shinjuku or Shibuya?" Noll said.

"Shinjuku," Lin said.

"Shibuya."

Lin frowned.

"Why?"

"Yeah, why those places?" Gene chimed in.

Noll looked up at his brother.

"The 'S' in SPR should stand for something. I suggested the name of the location."

Gene sat down in the other chair and opened the can.

Noll wanted to keep the connection to the Society for Psychical Research in London hidden. After all, both the Pratt Laboratory and the office in London were bombarded with request letters addressed to Noll every day. None of them were keen on dealing with the same in Tokyo. To keep it to a minimum, they would have to use a different name for the office. Also, since Noll would head the office, he would have to start using an alias of sorts.

If it were up to Gene, he would use a cool Japanese name fitting for a paranormal researcher.

"Oh, I also vote Shibuya."

"Your reasons?" Lin asked.

"It's a nice shopping location. Lots of places to sit down and eat."

The man sighed, not pleased by his answer, and turned to Noll.

"Noll?"

Gene frowned.

 _What? Those are perfectly good reasons!_

"Since I have to use a pseudonym as well, 'Shibuya' seems more fitting."

Not bad, Gene thought, drinking from the can, but wasn't that a little too obvious?

 _Wait._

He leaned forward.

"Oh, and Shibuya Psychic Research rolls better off the tongue. Try repeating 'Shinjuku Psychic Research' ten times."

Lin took a moment to process this.

"Fine. We'll go with Shibuya."

He looked down at his laptop.

"And why were you against Shibuya?"

"...Shinjuku seemed more suitable for an office. ...and I like it better there."

Gene couldn't help but grin. Shibuya definitely didn't seem like a place where Lin would fit in.

"But Shibuya does give off a more relaxed feel. If we are going to take any cases, people will feel more at ease if it's around ordinary cafes and shops."

"Gene has a point," Noll said.

"See?"

"Not that it matters a lot."

Gene frowned.

"It _does_ matter."

Lin pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Gene, how is your job search coming along?"

He perked up at this question.

 _Finally!_

"Oh, it's coming along great! In fact," Gene said. "My classmate's father offered me a job!"

Noll looked up.

"Where?"

He grinned.

"I was hoping you'd ask.. ...It's in a donut cafe." Lin and Noll gave him blank stares, so Gene retrieved the box of donuts from the kitchen, and handed his brother a green-colored donut. "I picked this for you. A matcha donut. The owner said it's not too sweet."

Noll frowned and took it with some reluctance.

Lin stared at Gene with a questioning face.

"Why a donut cafe?"

"It's close to home. Opposite this street, actually, and it pays quite well too. What's not to like about it?"

Lin turned to look at Noll.

"Noll, is this okay?"

Gene frowned. "Why wouldn't this be okay?"

He looked at Noll who was eating the donut.

"How is it?"

"...Not bad."

"I can get a box of free donuts every week if I work there."

Noll looked down at the half-eaten donut.

"I don't mind it. Do whatever you want."

Lin groaned.

Noll glared at him.

"He needs to bring in money, Lin."

The man stopped protesting and went back to staring at the laptop's screen.

Gene went to sit down on the couch in front of the television. He had picked it up in a second-hand shop. It was an old television, but it worked decently.

He flipped through the channels. He stopped pushing the button when he saw a pretty girl on the television. She was doing a seance on television. That caught his interest too. Gene watched the programme for a while. The cameras obviously did not pick up on the presence of spirits, so he too had a limited viewing. The girl in the kimono seemed to be possessed. Something about the girl seemed familiar, but he couldn't exactly pin down where he'd seen her before.

"Who's the girl on the telly?"

"Hara Masako," Lin said. "It seems she's quite famous in Japan. A genuine medium, they say."

Gene turned around. Both Lin and Noll stared at the television.

He looked back again. This time her eyes seemed lively. Apparently, he had tuned in at the end of the programme because the ending credits started to roll.

 _I wonder if I'll ever meet her._

He turned the television off.

"Alright, going to do my homework. Call me when dinner's done."

Gene walked into the bedroom.

Since they couldn't afford a flat with three bedrooms, he and Noll had to share. The room had a walk-in drawer, along with two beds. Noll had claimed the bed against the wall. Gene sat down on the bed next to the window. He had wanted to add a desk and a chair, but for now he had to do his homework on his bed or the table in the living room.

After finishing his homework and catching up on a portion of last month's school work, Gene began to study the donut cafe's menu. It didn't seem that difficult. Most of the words were in katakana.

Gene lowered himself down at the bed and stared at the ceiling. He smiled.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Tokyo, November 2006**

The days passed quickly.

Lin and Noll went on various trips around the town to speak with realtors. Their eyes set on various places in Shibuya, but it took long for them to find something suitable within their budget. In the meanwhile, Noll spent his days working on a paper and reading whatever books he had on hand.

Although Gene had fallen behind nearly a month, he caught up to the other students with relative ease to the surprise of many teachers. His Japanese language skills, particularly in reading, had improved a lot. He was able to read short articles after a stint into kanji memorization. His school life in general was great; he had no trouble fitting in and got along well with his classmates. Most of the time he hung out with Owen, Devi and Christopher during lunch. As for other classmates, ... Gene particularly liked a girl named Susanna. She was for a lack of better words hot. Susanna was the athletic type. He didn't know her very well, so he was eager to know her better - he even caught her staring at him sometimes.

Perhaps he was in luck?

In any case, he was ready to move on from that whatshername disaster!

After school, Gene headed to the donut cafe with Christopher. Christopher was a quiet and unassuming guy, who liked to play video games and not much else. His younger sister Yumi was a few years younger than them. She seemed shy at first, but the more they interacted, the more she came out of her shell. Though their father Taichi was a man of not many words, Gene worked well together with him in the donut shop.

At first, he worked at the cafe for three days in the week, but soon enough Taichi asked him to work for five days in the week. The reason? An increase of customers. Gene had invited all of his classmates to come over, and the word quickly spread among the youth. The donut cafe was starting to become a trendy place. Though Gene wondered why the place was so quiet in the first place. There wasn't anything wrong with the donuts. In fact, they were delicious. Perhaps it was the location? After all, it wasn't located in one of the main shopping streets...

Strangely enough, there were barely any regulars from the neighbourhood. Taichi rarely interacted with the locals, apart from Kawamoto-san, a good friend of Taichi. Sometimes he would stare out of the window with a sad expression, but it wasn't out of loneliness or something like that. Whenever Gene tried to ask the siblings about it, they said it was nothing strange and changed the topic. It seemed to be a touchy subject, so Gene decided to leave it alone.

The neighbourhood itself was a mix of lively and quiet. For a busy city there were not too many spirits, though he encountered will-o'-the-wisps about nearly every day during his commute. However, most of the time those spirits ascended on their own.

Gene didn't mind talking to spirits with a human appearance. These spirits were often old people who had recently. They were easy to purify, so it was better to take care of them before they caused potential harm. However, it was a pain tot talk to them with other living people in sight. After what happened back home, Gene preferred to keep his abilities as hidden as possible.

* * *

 **Tokyo, mid-November 2006**

On a Monday afternoon, Gene walked home early from school. He had a few hours to spare before starting his shift at the donut cafe. After arriving at the entrance, he found a short girl standing there alone.

Gene frowned.

Didn't this happen before?

"Hello there."

The girl turned her head and cocked her head in confusion.

"Hello."

"Have we met before?" Gene said.

The girl nodded,

"Oh, I remember now. It was about a month ago... shortly after I moved here."

She nodded again.

"Waiting for mum again?"

"Yes."

"When she's supposed to come home?"

"Soon."

"Soon, huh?" Gene reached into his bag and held out a wrapped item. "Want a donut?"

The girl widened her eyes.

"Arakawa donut!"

"You know that place?"

Gene took the donut out of the paper wrap and gave it to her.

Her eyes twinkled.

"Yeah!"

She took several bites from the donut, obviously enjoying the sweet taste.

Gene couldn't help but smile.

"I work there! Why not come over with your mother sometime?"

Sadness clouded the girl's features all of sudden. She looked down.

"What's wrong?"

She pursed her lips.

"Dad isn't coming home."

"...Eh?"

"And mommy is sad."

Gene crouched down to meet her face-to-face. Her eyes looked dull.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It sounds tough."

"Nobody knows how it feels. Only this child understood. But this child's dad came back home." She glared down at pavement, still not meeting his eyes. "It makes me mad."

Gene couldn't follow her train of thought. Why did she start speaking like that?

"Um... I do know how it feels."

She faced him with a look of surprise.

"You know how it feels?"

"Yeah, you're not alone," he said. " So if you need to talk to someone, I'm here for you."

Gene smiled kindly at her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Suddenly, a cold feeling rushed into his body.

In the next moment, the girl widened her eyes. She dropped the half-eaten donut from her hands.

"W-who are you?" she said.

 _What?_

Gene wanted to retort with another question, but his mouth did not move.

His eyes closed involuntarily, and soon he blacked out.

 _You're not my daughter! Stop calling me your father._

Someone shook his shoulder.

"Eugene!"

Christopher?

He opened his eyes, completely disoriented. His head was on the pavement.

 _What happened?_

Christopher's worried face came into his view.

"Are you okay? Should I call someone for you?"

His voice was loud.

Gene sat up and tried to focus. They were close to the flat.

"No, I'm ... fine. Why, why are you here?"

Christopher looked nervous.

"Well, I saw you standing here-"

"But where's the little girl?

Gene's eyes searched for the girl, but there was no trace of her.

"Eugene, don't move-"

His head ached.

"Ah, shit."

"Let's go inside." Christopher grabbed ahold of him. "Shit, you're cold."

 _Cold? What. But the girl._

They moved to the bench inside the flat building.

"But there was a girl here. About seven years old."

He frowned. "She ran off before I got here..."

"Huh?"

"Please worry about yourself first." Christopher started to search his bag. "Do you need something to drink?"

"No, it's fine. I'm just... confused," Gene said. "What happened?"

"You," Christopher took his hands out of the bag. "You fainted."

"I fainted?"

"Maybe you got... overwhelmed?"

"What?"

Christopher scratched his head.

"I mean, you're dealing with so many things at once. Catching up with school, part-time job, football - How about taking a rest for a moment? Take a breather."

That didn't make any sense. He wasn't following Christopher's train of thought.

"But I don't -"

"I can't tell you how to take care of yourself," Christopher said, looking nervous again. "I'm just saying that it happens. It happened to my mum, at least, that's what my parents told me. She had a culture shock and got homesick after a month."

Gene wasn't able to say anything. He didn't freak out or anything like that.

He replayed the events in his head.

He went home early from school to work. Work?

"Ah, I have to work."

Gene rose up, but his Christopher held his shoulder down.

"No, I'll take over from you today."

"But-"

"Like I said, take a rest." Christopher sighed. "You seem fine now, but you looked really upset."

"Huh? About what?"

The other frowned.

"...About your father?"

"My... father?"

"Because he... " Christopher hesitated. "... didn't come home."

 _That..._

"But I don't understand. Isn't your father in England?"

Suddenly, a chill ran through his spine.

 _So cold. So cold. So cold._

He heard Christopher sigh.

"Sorry. It's fine if you don't want to answer. I'll help you to your flat, okay?

Gene nodded.

 _Please, leave me alone. Don't get inside of me anymore._

Christopher grabbed his shoulder.

They walked into the lift.

Gene was about to tell him the floor he lived on, but for some reason he couldn't recall it. However, for some reason Christopher knew which button to push without asking.

 _Please get out! I can't help you right now._ He pleaded again. _I do have a dad. His name is Martin and he never stopped caring for me!_

At that moment, the cold left him.

A vague shape of a girl in a school uniform left through the door opening.

The elevator closed, then moved up to the seventh floor.

Christopher helped him out. They continued to walk without saying anything.

Gene stopped in front of his home.

"How did you know which floor I lived on?"

Christopher seemed taken aback.

"...I read it in your job form."

 _Liar. You wouldn't have remembered something like that._

Christopher's face had turned pale. He was no longer looking at the door.

His mouth opened as if to say something, but Gene spoke up.

"Thanks for helping me. I'll be fine from here."

Christopher closed his mouth. He nodded and turned around.

Gene sighed and turned the key in the door slot.

"Eugene?"

"Yes?"

"Take care... and be careful."

* * *

 **Author's note**

I know, I know. This chapter is full of time skips, but the quicker we get to Mai's next appearance, the better right?


	10. Wandering Girl

**Chapter 9: Wandering Girl**

 **Tokyo, mid-November 2006**

Lin took a sip of tea, then placed his mug down next to his laptop on the dinner table.

They were very close to deciding between three office spaces in Shibuya.

Two of those were located in calm and secluded areas of Shibuya, far away from the Shibuya station and hidden in narrow lanes. A new office space recently opened up in Dougenzaka. In a street to the left of Shibuya 109, which was just a short walk away from the famous scramble crossing in front of Shibuya station. That particular place would have been a good option if not for the busy road located just outside the building. After all, Dougenzaka was a trendy area full of restaurants, pubs, karaoke, and shops.

Even so, Madoka insisted on using that office space over the other two.

Noll had protested over the Skype call; he preferred an office in a calmer street.

However, nothing could change Madoka's mind. Not to mention she had the final say on the matter, given her major involvement of opening the branch office. The location was easy to reach, the rent was reasonable, and the place was accessible. If the branch office was to accept potential cases, it would be sensible to keep the client's anxiety in mind.

Lin stared at the boy opposite of him. Noll stared down at his notebook with a dull expression.

He had totally given into Madoka. They would visit the place sometime this week.

Suddenly, the door of their apartment opened.

Lin turned to look into the direction of the hallway.

Gene appeared into the doorway. He dropped his bag on the floor, then threw himself facedown on the sofa.

When he let out a curse, Lin frowned.

"What's the matter?"

"I was careless," Gene said.

He lifted an eyebrow.

"Careless?"

Gene didn't respond. Instead, he repeatedly struck his fists against the armrest.

Noll closed the notebook and sighed.

"Stop being so juvenile."

Gene pushed himself of the sofa, facing his brother with an angry expression.

"I'm not being juvenile!"

"Calm down," Lin said. He turned in his seat to face him. "What happened?"

The boy sat up and put his hands against his head.

"There was a young girl outside. She looked lonely, so I talked to her and..."

He paused.

"And?"

"It turned out she was possessed." Gene bit his lips. "I didn't realize until the spirit possessed me."

Noll sighed. "How could you not have noticed?"

Gene groaned.

"I know, I know. I should have noticed!" he said. "Her strange way of speaking, that odd look in her eyes..."

"Then why didn't you see it?"

Gene shook his head.

Lin sensed there was something else going on, and so did Noll, apparently.

"...You didn't want to see it."

Lin blinked and looked at Noll. He was glaring down at Gene.

"Noll, that's-"

The boy gave a careless shrug.

"No, he's right," Gene said with a bowed head. "I saw the signs, but I didn't want to acknowledge it."

Lin frowned.

"Why?"

Gene remained quiet. He was hugging his legs on top of the sofa. Lin looked at the other boy. Though he seemed disappointed, Noll didn't speak either.

 _There must be something... The reason why they, no Gene, insisted on coming to Japan._

"I see," Lin said. "Does it have something do with school?"

Gene shook his head again, still not looking up.

"Your friends?"

Still no response.

Noll sighed. "He simply doesn't want to see, Lin."

Lin gazed at Noll's blank expression.

 _Is he telling me not to pry?_

Gene finally spoke.

"...Christopher found me. He happened to see me fainting."

Noll lifted an eyebrow. "Christopher?"

"My classmate. The one whose father runs the donut ship, remember? I think I might have given him a scare," Gene said. "The spirit communicated to him."

"How did he react?"

"Christopher thinks I talked like that and fainted because... I'm stressed out."

Lin sighed.

 _Of course. Christopher doesn't know..._

He was beginning to understand Gene's issue.

Neither Noll or Gene spoke, but the former looked impatient.

Lin tried to change the subject.

"But aren't possessing spirits usually visibly attached to the person they possessed?"

Gene lifted his head before answering. His eyes looked weary.

"It depends... Sometimes they cling to their subject, and other spirits hide deep within," Gene said, putting his feet down. "It's more obvious in the astral plane."

"Why did it possess the girl?" Noll asked.

"They seemed to have similar circumstances."

"The similar circumstances?"

"The spirit is a girl of around elementary school age. She was abandoned by her father, and she was unhappy that it made her mum sad. That's why." Gene folded his hands together. "That's why she possessed me."

"You said that you were possessed," Lin said. "How did you manage to convince the spirit to leave?"

"I told them I got adopted, and about Martin." Gene gave a weak smile. "She decided to leave, because she realized my situation got better."

"It seems like she is trying to feed off the negativity of others," Noll said. "It could become troublesome and malignant."

Lin nodded.

Noll put a hand against forehead and looked at Gene.

"Do you think you can purify the spirit?"

Gene shrugged.

"I'm not sure. It might not be easy if she's angry at me."

"You're useless," Noll muttered. He turned to Lin. "What do you think?"

"It's best if we take care of this spirit. The sooner, the better."

"It might be better if Lin takes care of this one," Gene said. "It seems like she died somewhat recently."

"Would you, Lin?"

Lin cupped his chin. "I could do that, but I'd need more information. Where did you encounter her?"

"In front of the gate." Gene said. "She was familiar with the donut I gave her, so she probably lived close by."

Lin exchanged glances with Noll.

"Could it be in this flat?"

The flat building was known for renting out to foreigners, but the low rent was suspicious. Something had obviously happened here, but their landlord had not spoken a single word. He was possibly afraid that they might move out after learning the truth behind the low price.

It didn't seems so strange how none of them had noticed anything off about the flat they'd rented. The place had been stripped clean. It came without furniture and without visible possessions from the previous renters. Noll had no way of sensing there was anything off and Gene didn't see any spirits lingering in the flat itself.

On top of that, his own shiki didn't notice anything odd or dangerous.

Noll headed to the box with paper disposables next to the dinner table. He searched though the scrapped notes, many letters and advertisements from the post.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for something we can use." Noll stopped searching and got up. "This will do."

He handed an envelope to Lin. It was a letter addressed to a certain Koujima-san. The subject matter seemed to be commercial in nature.

"Lin, why don't you talk to Nishikubo-san?"

A few minutes later he found himself in front of the door of their neighbour.

Nishikubo was a chatty middle-aged lady. She seemed to know everyone on their floor and was the first to talk to them. After learning that Lin was from Hong Kong, she had exclaimed her fondness for Chinese martial art films and food. Even if Lin and the twins didn't talk to the neighbours that much, at least he could count on Nishikubo's favour.

"Oh, Lin-san. Nice to see you again."

"Excuse me, do you happen to have the new address of your previous neighbours?" Lin showed her the envelope. "We received a letter for them the other day."

"Oh my." Her eyes widened. "Didn't the landlord tell you? They have passed away."

 _Bingo._

"...No, I am hearing this for the first time."

"Of course he wouldn't tell you!" Nishikubo huffed. "He must have feared that you would move away if you learned of this accident."

"Accident?" Lin prompted.

Nishikubo nodded, a tear trickling down her cheek.

"Koujima-san and her daughter were truly unfortunate. After the husband left the family, their daughter Misa fell from the balcony. She was such a sweet girl!" Nishikubo sniffed and pulled out a tissue. "Apparently, Koujima-san blamed herself and..."

She shook her head, unable to speak anymore.

"My condolences," Lin said. "I assume it happened recently?"

"Yes, at the end of November last year."

They'd have to check the newspapers for more information, Lin thought.

"It might be a strange question, but is there anything I should know? Perhaps, rumours..."

She blinked.

"Rumours? Actually..." Nishikubo paused. "No, never mind. It was an accident. That's what the police told us."

Strange. She seemed unwilling to divulge more.

Lin decided to back off.

"I see. Thank you for the information."

After saying his goodbye, Lin returned home and found the twins waiting for him at the dinner table. Gene looked anxious.

"What did you find out?"

"A little, but apparently not the whole story."

Lin told them what Nishikubo had said, and her reluctance to share more.

"I see." Noll noted down the information. "Let's try to find out more about this woman and her daughter."

Lin nodded.

"I'll see what I can do."

"And me?" Gene pointed at himself. "I don't have anything to do today, so..."

"Go rest," Noll said. "You look tired."

"What?"

"Listen to your brother."

"You too, Lin?"

Lin smiled.

"You've had enough excitement for the day. Go take a rest."

* * *

Gene spent the first hours of the night worrying himself sick, rolling around in his bed until his brother complained about the noise. The bad memories of his previous school. previously stuck in the back of his mind, were dragged up again.

Eventually, Gene managed to fall asleep somehow, but his anxiety kept him from having a good night rest. He woke up several times. During each interval he remembered having dreamed about a woman, who seemed to be taking care of a child. Her kindness faded with each sequence until she was an empty shell. The dreams weren't terrible, but there was something sad and lonely about these experiences. The last dream featured the woman with a man, and for some reason, a feeling of anger boiled inside of him.

After Gene felt groggy when he woke up. His eyes had been stained with tears, but he refused to let the other two take note of them.

Gene wanted to help them with searching for clues, but Lin and Noll told him to concentrate on school, rather than the impromptu case that had been thrown at them. They would go the library first thing in the morning, before checking out an office space in Dougenzaka.

Gene decided to go to school at their insistence.

His classmates greeted him as usual, and to his relief, he didn't sense any disingenuity in their smiles.

Gene found Christopher in the back of the class.

"Hey. How was work?" he asked.

"Just fine," Christopher said. "People were asking for you."

"Really?"

"I told them you weren't feeling well. You okay now?"

"Yeah." Gene smiled. "Thanks for filling in."

"No problem."

Then, the day continued as if nothing had happened. Christopher did not ask any questions, and though he seemed close to Devi and Owen, not even they seemed to be aware of yesterday's incident. Susanna flirted with him during lunch hour.

In other words, it seemed like no one knew.

When Gene returned from school to his part-time job, his boss Taichi welcomed him with a 'get well' donut. Gene almost teared up at this gesture. He owed Christopher a lot.

Upon returning home, Gene found Lin and Noll around the dinner table.

Lin had already prepared the materials out in front of him.

"I suppose you found out what you needed," Gene said.

Noll nodded.

"We found the names, and the dates of birth and death of both mother and daughter, Koujima Mitsuko and Misa," he said. "They were aged 36 and 7."

"What did you find out?"

"According to the newspaper articles, Misa's fall from the balcony was ruled an accident. She lost her balance while hanging the laundry."

That was strange.

"...Was she helping out her mother?

"It seemed she was alone on the balcony," Noll said. "In any case, Mitsuko jumped shortly after. The police assumed that she was unable to cope with her daughter's death and any possible repercussions that would follow. Given her daughter's young age, she would have likely been blamed for her carelessness."

That made sense. Leaving a young child alone on a balcony was asking for trouble.

"I see." Gene looked down at the wooden human effigy on the table. "For the mother?"

"Yes," Lin said. "Our plan is to lure the spirit, and have her be reunited with the mother."

"But... How do we lure her?"

"We find her and bring her to a secluded place."

"We?" Gene pointed at hmself and looked at Noll. "You mean, you and I?"

"Who else?"

He frowned. "She might possess you too."

"It won't happen."

"You never know," Gene said. "Ghosts can't tell the difference between twins."

Noll shrugged.

"You chased off the spirit. It won't happen again."

In the late evening, after dinner, they headed downstairs. Lin waited with the effigy in a small park nearby. Gene suspected that the girl did not particularly like being in her former home. It did not feel like she was trying to find her way back. Misa seemed the type of spirit who craved attention and was desperate to find others like her.

The twins searched together in the area around the flat building. Not many people were out this late in the dark, so they could search around freely. It didn't take long for Gene to find the girl.

 _(I see her!)_

 _(Where?)_

 _(At the corner of the building. Stay behind me.)_

Like yesterday, Misa was clothed in a school uniform consisting of a dark blue jacket, a black skirt and crew socks, as well as a yellow hat and a red leather backpack. The hat and the backpack were a common sight in the streets. However, most elementary school students did not wear a uniform, but it seemed like some schools appeared to require them.

Misa noticed them from afar, but did not budge from her location when Gene approached.

"Hi, I need to talk to you." Gene stopped in front of her and gestured at the figure behind him. "This is my younger brother. His name is Noll."

She frowned.

Gene sighed. The girl didn't seem very happy to see him.

"I'm really sorry for what happened last time."

Misa pouted.

"You lied to me."

 _(Ack, she's angry.)_

 _(Keep trying.)_

"I didn't lie. You know that, you must have felt it," Gene said. "Martin adopted me. My real father... he never came back for me."

She continued to glare, so Gene turned around with a somewhat desperate smile.

"Right, Noll?"

"Yes."

The girl pouted again.

"Okay, so... Can I ask you a question?"

Misa held her tongue.

Noll groaned audibly.

 _(You already asked her a question.)_

 _(Shut up smartass.)_

Gene let out a sigh, then smiled warmly again.

"Misa-chan, why were you waiting in front of this building?"

She blinked at the mention of her name.

"How do you know?"

"Well." Gene paused. It was always hard to break it to spirits, but even more so to young children. They often did not know what death meant. "Do you know that you're dead?"

Misa tilted her head. "Dead?"

"Yes... Do you know what it means?"

A pensive expression appeared on her face.

"I was on the balcony... and then... I was here, outside." Misa paused. "But... I think I do understand."

"I see." Gene kneeled in front of her. "How do you feel right now?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm just wandering around and no one noticed me." Misa looked at him. "Until you came."

"Then... how did you feel at home?"

She replied instantly.

"Unhappy."

"Then what would make you feel happier?"

Misa looked down at her feet.

"My mum, I wish I could see her happy again... I keep waiting for her to pick me up."

Gene smiled.

"Do you want to see her?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, she's waiting for you."

"You're lying. My mother never picks me up at school. She keeps giving me all these excuses about how she's too tired, and she stopped smiling after daddy left us! And she only smiled when that stupid man came around."

"I'm sorry."

Gene knelt down in front of her. Misa showed a sad expression on her face.

"You feel hurt, don't you?"

She pursed her lips and nodded.

"That's too lonely." Gene gave her a warm smile, and held out his hand. "Come with me. Let's have a walk in the park."

Though hesitant at first, Misa reached out to him. Her hand was cold. She meekly walked alongside him into the direction of the small park. Noll followed them at a short distance.

"Will I really see her?" she asked with a small voice.

"You will. I promise you."

In the park, Gene could see Lin's shadowy figure hiding behind a tree at the back. A few metres ahead of him was a smaller tree, where a woman stood.

They walked up to the woman.

"Mum?"

The woman smiled kindly.

"Misa."

Misa turned to look at Gene in disbelief. Her eyes sparkled.

"There she is, your mum. Go home together with her."

She let go of him with a smile and ran up to the figure next to the tree.

Then, a light engulfed them, and it faded away along with the woman and child.

Lin appeared from behind the other tree, and went to pick up the effigy.

Gene let out a sigh of relief.

"Well done, both," Noll said with a smirk.

He showed a weak smile in return.

"Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without you."

* * *

A week later, Gene received a message from his parents about their Christmas holiday trip to Japan. Martin and Luella had been curious to see how their sons were living in Tokyo, and wanted to pay them a visit. Apparently, Madoka had decided to join them as well, since Noll was about to decide on which office he would use. Madoka insisted on throwing a housewarming party in the office upon their arrival. Gene was looking forward to that, but the other two looked like they wanted to bury their heads in the sand after being told of her intentions.

Gene gazed at a female classmate in one of the rows ahead of him. He sighed happily. In the past week, he had managed to flirt with Susanna on multiple occasions. Eventually she responded in kind and asked him out on a date to the cinema on Saturday. He immediately agreed. Susanna was bold and he liked it. His time at this school was about to blossom into a rose-coloured romance; his head was in the clouds.

However, there was one person that kept his feet on the ground.

Christopher barely talked to him these days.

He seemed distracted and there always a hazy and distant look in his eyes. Whenever Gene tried to interact with him, Christopher answered awkwardly. Their conversations had become brief. No one else seemed to notice anything off about Christopher.

 _So is it just me?_

There was a telepathic knock on Gene's door.

 _(We have the keys.)_

 _(Already?)_

 _(Yes.)_

 _(So when can I take a look?)_

 _(Come whenever you're finished with school. I'll be there.)_

 _(Great. Pass me the address.)_

Gene listened to what his brother had to say, and wrote the information down in his notebook.

After school ended, he headed to Sangen-jaya station right away since he had a day off work. The station was a five minute walk from The British School.

"Gene?"

He turned around and found Devi walking behind him. She caught up with him.

"Heading to the station?"

"Yeah, I need to drop by in Shibuya."

"Oh, me too," Devi said. "I'm going to buy some clothes for the winter season. I've grown out of my old ones."

Gene blinked.

That was something he should do for both him and Noll too. They had brought little clothing of their own to Japan. If they were growing out of their current clothes anyway, there was very little point in bringing them along.

So far, Noll had spent his time switching between a few shirts and trousers.

Luckily, Gene had his school uniform, which was basically a suit, so he wasn't that bothered with the lack of clothes in the first place... but it would be nice to expand their wardrobes, and of course he needed new and hip clothes for his date on Saturday.

"How about you, Gene?"

"...Oh, I'm visiting my brother at his office."

"Yeah, you told us something about that a while ago? A researcher, isn't he?"

Gene nodded.

They hurried into the station and quickly entered the first train into the direction of Shibuya.

"By the way, how's part time work?"

"Great! I'm enjoying it much more than I thought I would."

She grinned.

"Chris told me the cafe gained a lot of female customers after you started working there."

Gene chuckled.

"I don't know about that. Could be a coincidence?"

"Well, for a while they didn't seem to be doing so well... They used to do better a year before," Devi said. "Has Chris told you about what happened?"

"Huh?"

Devi put a hand against her mouth.

"Oh, nevermind." She shook her head. "I probably shouldn't..."

Devi nervously fumbled with the phone in her handd.

"Um, okay?"

Gene tilted his head in confusion.

 _What was that?_

She forced a smile.

"A-anyway, I never mentioned it, but you really coped well even though you were a month behind. It's amazing."

"Not really."

Gene smiled, going along with her change of topic.

"And your brother must be really smart too. Will you be a researcher like him?"

"Haha, no. It's not my thing."

"Really?"

They continued to talk about school until they parted ways at their destination.

"Well, see you tomorrow."

Devi waved a hand and set off.

Gene watched her go, then made his way to the main street in Dougenzaka.

 _What was Christopher supposed to tell me?_

His friend obviously knew something. It had to do with the Arakawa family's silence on a particular subject, and why Christopher knew where he lived... It may have been a coincidence, but Misa knew of the donut shop. So...

Without thinking, he found himself in the front of a red brick building. As expected, it was very easy to find and quite accessible. There was a small fountain on the plaza. The cafe on the first floor seemed like a nice place to have lunch.

Gene took the escalator leading to the first floor. After making sure he was at the right address, he knocked on the door without a nameplate.

"Hello?"

 _(It's open.)_

Gene grabbed the door handle and opened the door.

His first impression: it was surprisingly spacey.

He found his brother sat on the floor against the wall with his laptop.

"Lin went to get some furniture."

"You're letting him do all the work?"

"I'm not interested in decorating the place."

Gene sighed.

"Geez, you work him too hard."

Noll shrugged.

Gene took a quick look around the place. There was a small kitchen and some leftover furniture in the smaller rooms.

"And you got this for that price? Not bad," he said, "But where's the toilet?"

Noll pointed at the exit. "There's one on this floor."

"Okay..."

The lack of a bathroom seemed inconvenient, but at least they didn't have to clean if it was a common bathroom.

He looked out of the window. "Nice view too."

When Noll didn't respond, Gene turned around.

"Say, have you decided on a name? That alias of yours, Shibuya... something."

"Lin wrote it down for me."

Noll pulled out a paper from his notebook and handed it to Gene.

 _渋谷一也_

 _Shibuya Kazuya_

Gene frowned.

"But this," he pointed at the short horizontal line, "is the kanji for 'one'."

"Apparently."

"But I'm the older brother!"

Noll shot him a glare.

"I can't accept this," Gene said.

"It's my office."

"Ugh, never mind." Gene turned around and started to pull at the curtains. They looked dreadfully boring and old-fashioned. "Hey, you should really try to make this place more comfortable for visitors."

"I don't think it's essential."

"I'm going to mention this to Lin. Maybe he'll agree."

"Do whatever you want."

Gene sighed and picked up his school bag from the floor. There wasn't anything left to do here. Perhaps he could take a look in the shops in the area.

He gazed down at his brother's legs. Noll was definitely growing out of those trousers.

"Just so you know, I'm going to revamp my wardrobe."

Noll looked up at him.

"Should I buy clothes for you too?" Gene pointed down at his legs. "Your socks are showing."

Noll moved his gaze down.

"Fine."

"Good. I'll get stuff for you too. Any colour preferences?"

"Black."

Gene lifted an eyebrow.

 _That's all?_

"...Anything else?"

"That's it."

Gene frowned. Where did he get the idea of using only one color?

"What's with the black? Are you going to dress for a funeral?"

Noll shrugged. "I don't want to think about color combinations."

Gene grimaced.

"Look here, Noll. I don't want us to be known as the 'black twin and the color twin'."

His brother sighed.

"I don't care what people think."

"...I can deal with the black trousers, but I'll get you some grey and white shirts at the very least."

When Noll sighed, Gene pointed a finger at him.

"Hey, don't complain! Be thankful I'm not getting you yellow and pink shirts!"

Gene headed out of the office and closed the door behind him. After descending from the escalator, he passed the cafe and looked down the street. Suddenly, there was a vibration in his pocket. Gene pulled his cellphone out and looked at the screen.

Christopher had sent a text.

 _ **Hey, Gene. Do you have time today? There's something I need to tell you.**_

* * *

Christopher insisted on meeting up with Gene in Shibuya. He wanted to explain everything, so they chose to meet in a cafe down the street.

After sitting down and receiving their drinks, Gene started.

"Let me guess. Devi scolded you?"

Christopher grimaced.

"A little. What did she say?"

"She asked me if I knew what had happened before I worked in the cafe, but she changed the subject when I said I didn't."

He smiled awkwardly.

"Ah, you see. Devi didn't feel right about talking to you about that. That's why she called me," Christopher said. "And she was right. I should have told you about that way earlier, but something got in the way."

"And that something is?"

"When you got hired, I had planned on telling you about it after a while, but then I found out that..." Christopher paused. "That you lived _there_."

Gene raised an eyebrow.

"Our flat?"

His friend shifted uncomfortably. "Yes... Were you aware of what happened there?"

"More or less. A neighbour told us this week."

Gene explained briefly what they found out from Nishikubo.

"I assume you didn't hear about the incident before?"

"No, we didn't. The landlord didn't tell us anything."

"I thought so..." Christopher sighed. "Did you ask the neighbour after hearing the story from that girl? I think she's one of the dead girl's classmates."

Gene blinked.

"The girl..."

"The one who talked to you before you fainted? For some reason, she shows up every once in a while in front of the flat building," Christopher said.

"Well, yeah. I told my brother and housemate. They wanted to know more about it too."

"I see. How did they react? ...Were they repulsed?"

Gene wanted to say that they were used to these occurrences, but he didn't want to bring that up right now.

"Not at all. They didn't seem affected, and I don't mind it either."

"My dad and Yumi were convinced that you'd move away and leave, so they urged me not to tell you. I thought they were wrong, but I kept hesitating..."

Gene smiled. "It's fine. I don't want to move out, and I'm sure the other guys agree as well."

"That's good to hear."

"Anyway, about the incident... Can you tell me more?"

Christopher looked down at the table.

"Well, where should I start..."

"Our neighbour told us it was an accident," Gene said. "Is that true? She seemed hesitant."

"Yes, it was an accident, according to the police." Christopher sighed a little. "But there are... rumours."

"Does it have something to do with your father? The thing you don't want to tell me about."

"Well, indirectly, yes."

"Indirectly?"

"You know Kawamoto-san, right?"

"Yeah, your dad's friend..."

"My father, Kawamoto-san and Koujima-san attended the same high school, but grew distant after graduating. After Koujima-san moved back into Setagaya, they became friends again."

Gene widened his eyes.

"You mean, they were lovers?"

Christopher shrugged.

"All I know is that Koujima-san's husband divorced from her about a year after they moved here. Their daughter grew up to not look like her father. Everyone could see that Misa was a child out of wedlock. Sure enough, Koujima-san admitted that she had an affair in the city they used to live in."

"...She's not Kawamoto-san's child?"

"No, probably someone else's. Misa didn't look like him either," Christopher said. "Anyway, Kawamoto-san supported Koujima-san emotionally during this time... But after a few months he stopped coming to her house. He realized she was relying too much on him."

"I see..."

"I also heard from my dad that Koujima-san paid far more attention to Kawamoto-san, than her own daughter. Misa hated him, so he decided to back out for that reason too. But by then the rumours had already started."

"Rumours?"

"Kawamoto-san is a married man and very well known in the neighbourhood. People were noticing that he came over a little too often."

"Well, he should have drawn a line somewhere," Gene said.

"My dad and I think so too." Christopher paused to take a sip from his drink. "Shortly after, Misa fell from the balcony. She died on the spot."

"...How? I've seen the balcony, the railing is quite high."

"According to an eyewitness, she fell down while putting up the laundry or playing on the balcony. After hearing a scream, Koujima-san came out and found Misa's lifeless body on the pavement."

"God."

"I think she lost it back then. She jumped."

"...That's terrible."

"Either way, the police found some possible marks of abuse on Misa's body."

"What?"

"The police assumed it had to be Koujima-san, but the other possibility is that some of the marks were caused by her former husband." Christopher grimaced. "The man himself blames his ex-wife and her 'new lover'... So some people believe that it could be Kawamoto-san. The rumours didn't help either; it was well known that Misa disliked him.

"Is that why people stopped coming to the donut cafe?"

"That's because Kawamoto-san and my dad still talk to each other, as you know. My dad knew both of them quite well, and he suspects that Koujima-san jumped because she could be sued for child abuse on top of neglect."

"And what do you think?"

He shrugged.

"Yumi and I don't think it's Kawamoto-san either, but... we don't like that he keeps coming over. It took a hit on the shop's income, but my dad says he doesn't care. He doesn't want Kawamoto-san to be alienated from the community he's lived in since childhood," Christopher paused, then looked up at him. "Gene, is it wrong to think like Yumi and I do? He may have made some mistakes with Koujima-san, I know that, but there's a good chance that he's innocent."

Gene thought about the situation, and tried to recall every instance he interacted with Kawamoto in the shop.

"From what I've seen, he doesn't seem like a bad person at heart. When he smiles, it's genuine, and when he looks sad, it's not fake," Gene said. "What was he like before this mess?"

"Well, Kawamoto-san used to be a very popular man in the neighbourhood. He's friendly and warm. My sister and I used to look up to him, like an uncle." Christopher paused for a moment. "...Actually, he reminds me of you."

Gene blinked multiple times.

"Me?"

"Kawamoto is the type who loves to help people out and makes them feel like they're... special," Christopher said, giving Gene a look. "But some people, especially women, may take it the wrong way."

Gene had to chuckle. "Really?"

"Yes, for real." Christopher gave him a weary stare. "Yumi thought you were into her too."

His jaw dropped.

"What?"

Christopher sighed.

"I told her you behaved like that with other girls too."

Gene groaned. "Sorry about that..."

"It's fine. She never thought of you that way."

"Good."

"Let's keep that between us, okay? Yumi will kill me if she finds out I told you."

"Of course."

"Back to Kawamoto-san, what do you think his situation?"

"Well..."

Somehow it reminded him of the situation back in his old high school. There was a certain hierarchy in the class, and Gene didn't notice its existence until he got pushed off from the top.

He showed a bitter smile.

"I think... When you're that popular, there will always be people who hate you and want to take advantage of your weakness. Hence the rumors."

"...That makes sense."

"About Misa, she probably craved for her mother's attention when it became clear that her dad return. So I can understand that she'd react badly when her father got replaced by a complete stranger. I think Misa wanted her mother's emotional support, but she didn't get it."

Gene looked down.

"Right, she was having a hard time too."

"Yeah."

Christopher shifted in his seat.

"Hey... Does this remind you of anything?"

"Huh?"

He looked up at Christopher. He seemed a little hesitant.

"On Monday... you said were upset about your father. He didn't come home or something like that. And I sort of realized that your circumstances might be similar," Christopher said.

"Ah..."

"Back then I thought you had a break down and assumed it was something else. Looking back at it, I shouldn't have done that..."

"You're curious?"

"I mean, you don't want to answer-"

"It's fine." Gene leaned forward. "Remember when I told everyone I was born in Boston?"

Christopher nodded.

"Well, my brother and eye were born in a different family," Gene said. "Our original name isn't Davis."

His eyes widened. "So you're adopted?"

"Yeah, my brother and I were neglected too," Gene said. He had told this story many times to other people, so his tone wasn't affected. "Our mother died from binge drinking, but we didn't know what death was, so we just waited for her to wake up. A few days later our dad came home, but then he just left us to rot there."

Christopher dropped his jaw.

"He didn't help you guys?"

"No, he left us with her body in the middle of winter. We almost died of hunger and cold. They didn't find us until after ten days or so," Gene said. "Then we spent about a year in the orphanage until our adoption parents came along."

"Holy shit, what an asshole."

"I hate him. ...Both of them, actually."

"Is your brother doing okay?"

"He's... fine. It's just me. ...I empathize too easily. I like to think I've gotten over it like he did, but... it's hard sometimes."

"Well, ...that explains a lot. Why you fainted, I guess."

 _It wasn't entirely true, but..._

"I'm sorry for keeping it a secret. I just don't like to draw attention to that part of my life."

"That's understandable. This isn't something you can tell on your first day of school."

Gene smiled weakly. "Still, I should have told you earlier...

"Well, me too. So we're even?" Christopher said, grinning. "But I didn't expect a story like that."

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"At least I'm still here, and I have great adoption parents. They're honestly the best thing that happened to me."

"Yeah... Anyway, thanks for telling me."

Gene laughed a little. "No problem~ I'm glad I could tell someone."

It felt like they had grown closer. He was happy that he could tell Christopher a little about him, even if it wasn't everything. Perhaps, one day...

"So, you're actually American."

Gene grimaced.

"Please don't ask me if I can do an accent. I barely knew how to speak English before I got adopted."

Christopher laughed.

"No, seriously. Last time I told that to people, they kept bugging me to do an accent. I can't do it!"

"Alright, alright. Shall we go? I've kept you here long enough."

They left the cafe.

"Going home, Christopher?"

"Yeah, how about you?"

"I'm going to shop for some clothes."

"Oh right," he said. "I heard you're going on a date with Susanna?"

"Yes!" Gene beamed, then blinked. "...Uh, wait, how did you know?"

"...The whole school knows. The walls have eyes and ears."

"Seriously...?"

They walked into the direction of the station, but parted in front of Shibuya 109.

"Anyway, good luck," Christopher said, "and see you tomorrow."

"See you."

Gene headed into the direction of Shibuya 109's men's mall, then stopped. He turned around to look at Christopher's distant figure.

"Good luck with what?"

* * *

 **Author's note**

The first arc ends in the next chapter... ;) Look forward to it!


	11. A Mysterious Invitation

**Chapter 10: A Mysterious Invitation**

 **Tokyo, December 2006**

A few weeks later, it dawned upon Gene what Christopher had tried to say with 'good luck'.

His girlfriend was hot, but, compared to _whatshername_ , Susanna was very high maintenance. Dating Susanna wasn't something he could fit into his busy schedule. Between school and his part-time work it was a hassle to make time for _goldilocks_ \- and free time she demanded. He had accepted it at first, but it became obvious that she did not like to be ignored. In other words, she wanted to be spoiled with attention.

However, there was no way he could text her all day. Texting during his part-time job was not done. He also did not like to be distracted while doing homework in the evenings.

On top of that, goldilocks seemed hesitant to sit with Devi and the others. Gene didn't think much of it at first, so he ended up sitting with goldilocks' group during lunch hours. He didn't mind, because they were nice people. But being with them took away from connecting with his own friends.

A few weeks after the first date, a terrible thought entered his mind. Gene had begun to prefer the moments with his customers at the donut cafe over spending time with his girlfriend. And so he realised that goldilocks was very much into him, but Gene didn't feel the same way about her.

He had made a mistake - and in Martin's words, a 'grave error'.

Gene confronted Christopher about his warning.

His friend made an embarrassing confession.

As it happened, Christopher was goldilock's (in his own words) 'first victim'. The pair had lasted exactly one week. Both Susanna and Christopher were too embarrassed by that situation to even talk to each other again.

Which explained why neither wanted to sit with the other group.

Christopher had told him that he did not want to talk badly about goldilocks in front of her new boyfriend. In other words, he had hoped that Gene would have understood his hint.

Gene groaned when he recalled that conversation.

 _That guy is way too subtle for his own good!_

Today, was another day at school.

Gene fled from goldilocks as soon as the school day ended.

He told her that he had some family emergency to discuss with his brother. He dismissed her protests with a strained smile, then hurried over to Sangen-Jaya station. After hopping into the train to Shibuya, he let out a deep breath of relief.

Still, Gene had mixed feelings about this. It seemed - it was a dirty attempt to shake her off.

It wasn't a complete lie; he did receive a text from Martin. However, it wasn't something that required an emergency meeting with Noll.

With a heavy heart, Gene arrived in front of the office.

That was when he heard the shouting voice of a woman coming from the inside.

 _A visitor?_

Gene wavered in front of the door.

A muffled voice of a male argued back at her.

 _That's Noll._

Gene opened the door, then poked his head out of the small gap.

"With that attitude, Aoki-san, I don't think you have what it takes to be of our assistance."

He was able to see the back of a tall woman with long, black hair down to the hips. In her left arm she held a collection of flat and thin items. Noll stood in front of her and held something in his hand. Gene was unable to see it clearly.

"Fool someone else with your scamming tactics."

The woman bristled.

"You didn't even watch my DVD!"

"I don't need to," he said. "People like you typically use psychological manipulation to get what they want. That won't work on us."

His voice was cold.

Gene sighed. Noll could at least humour the woman by watching her DVD.

"I'm not a fake. I'll prove it to you!"

A sigh came from his brother.

"I'm not going to waste any more of my time on you. Did you think you could promote your phony business through our organisation?"

Aoki cursed at him.

Noll turned his head to the back.

"Lin. Show her out."

Suddenly, the woman lunged forward and stretched out her arm.

Gene gasped and pushed the door wide open.

"Watch out!"

Aoki grabbed his brother's wrist.

Noll froze up as she dug her fingers into his forearm. He grunted and dropped the DVD case on the carpet.

Gene launched into the woman's direction.

"Stop! You're hurting him."

He grabbed her shoulders and attempted to pull her back, but Aoki wouldn't let go off Noll. She started to pull Noll around like a ragged doll and began to shout.

"Why? WHY? I am perfectly capable!"

Lin took hold of her hand and began to pry her off Noll.

"Let go of me!"

The woman threw her arms around, causing Gene to fall back.

Lin dragged Aoki to the door, then pushed her out of the office.

"Don't come back," Lin said. "Or we'll call the police."

Then he slammed the door in her face.

A few curses from the other side from the door, but after a while they heard nothing. The woman didn't return.

Lin's warning had been effective.

Gene sighed and got up to help Noll from the floor.

"Who the hell was that?"

"...Someone who thought they could get away with a useless trick. She seemed to be under the impression that we are willing to put a good word in for her..." Noll pulled the DVD case from the floor. "...thriving clairvoyant business."

Noll handed the case over to Gene.

Aoki featured prominently on the cheaply designed cover. She had been photographed from the side with her eyes closed, and partially covered by the title and several captions in Japanese. Gene wasn't able to read what the text said. Judging by the visuals it had all the makings of a typical fake psychic DVD or video CD made for easy money.

"Thriving, really?"

"She used the same tactics on me as she would on an unsuspecting elderly person."

"Clever."

"Not at all."

Gene shrugged. "Sarcasm, Noll."

Noll sat down on the sofa and soothed his wrist with his other hand.

"Are you okay?" Lin asked.

"It's nothing," Noll replied. "It'll go away soon."

The man nodded.

"Then I'll prepare some tea for you," Lin said. "Gene?"

"I'll have some too, thanks."

Lin went to the kitchen.

Gene scratched his head.

"I didn't think people would come over here so soon. We've been open for what? Not even a week?"

"Some people are desperate for attention."

"Hmm."

Gene sat down and waited for Lin to return with the cups of tea.

"...Then what about requests for investigations?"

"Nothing," Noll said.

"Nothing at all?"

"There were a few," Lin said. "Mostly people who recently bought a house and weren't used to their homes yet."

Gene grimaced. That wasn't _nothing_.

"Okay. What else?"

Lin smirked a little.

"A few high school girls wanted their fortune told."

Gene frowned.

"Fortune telling?!"

Lin smirked.

"...My guess is that they only wanted to see Noll."

Noll sighed. "Lin..."

Gene laughed out loud.

"Amazing! What did you tell them?"

He shrugged.

"I told them they would never date a guy as good looking as me."

"Ouch. Harsh. You could have sent them to me."

Noll raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?"

Gene pressed his lips into a thin line. That shut him up alright.

Lin cleared his throat.

"...In any case, we don't have the equipment essential for proper inspections. Our custom-made cameras are taking long to ship to Japan."

"Right," Gene said. "But you could at least note down their names and phone numbers."

"I can assure you none of the visitors so far have been worthwhile," Noll said.

"...Geez, you're always like this. Cut people some slack."

"...And you are far too trusting."

Lin sighed.

"Noll is right. We can't waste too much time and money on them."

"Oh well, if you two say so, I won't say anything." Gene leaned back into the sofa, then sipped his tea. "By the way, Noll, have you read the message from Martin?"

"...No."

"That's why I came over," Gene said. "Madoka has added another travel mate to the roster."

Noll blinked. "Who?"

"Madoka's significant other." Gene winked and waved a finger at the others. "Guess who?"

"Timothy Grey," Lin said.

Gene blinked at the man.

"Huh. How did you know?"

Lin let out a sigh before explaining.

"We met in the laboratory while you two were on holidays. They've been dating ever since then."

Gene's jaw dropped.

"You knew all this time?! Why didn't you say anything?"

Lin shrugged.

"Madoka wanted to keep it a surprise."

Noll took out his phone.

"...Timothy Grey," he said. He stared down at Martin's text message with wide eyes.

"Damn, I bet our parents were dying to tell us."

Lin smirked again.

"Your father knew something was going on, but he had to keep quiet in front of your mother."

"Really?" Gene laughed. "I bet he got an earful from her. Right, Noll?"

Noll put a hand in front of his head and sighed.

Lin headed to the data room.

"Excuse me, I have some matters to take care of."

They watched Lin disappear into the room.

"What's up with him?"

Noll sighed.

"Madoka put him in charge of changing the office's interior."

In other words, Madoka still wasn't satisfied with the look of the main room.

"Well, yeah. I can get behind that," Gene said. "Didn't I tell you to change the curtains? They're awful."

"It will be done in time."

Noll sipped his tea with a pensive look on his face.

Gene sighed. The room looked terrible, but at least it was nice and quiet.

Unlike his girlfriend.

He suppressed a groan. Gene didn't want to think about her.

"Gene."

"Hm?"

He looked up. Noll stood next to him.

"Let's talk."

* * *

Gene closed the door behind him.

"So what's there to talk about?"

"Don't come over so often."

He frowned.

"Why?"

Noll put the cup of tea on his desk.

"You draw too much attention."

"And _who_ exactly is attracting teenage girls into the office?"

Noll shook his head. He turned around and leaned against the desk.

"It's not about that."

"...Because I am your brother?"

He nodded.

"If you associate with me in the office under your name, they will make the link. I don't want any trouble out of it."

 _Is this about what Haruka said?_

"That people will find out if we cooperated together?"

"Partially," Noll said, "and I myself am not keen on revealing my identity either."

"Alright. I understand," Gene said with some reluctance.

He scratched the back of his head. It had been a while since they had talked about Haruka. Though, despite all the distractions, anything related to her and the visions always remained in the back of his mind.

"You know," he said, "I've been thinking about that vision a lot lately... and it honestly gives me the creeps."

Noll remained expressionless.

"Don't mind it too much."

Gene glared.

"Aren't you taking this too lightly? I saw two visions, one in which you died. And that new vision was, I don't know how to say it, - fucked up, I guess."

Noll folded his arms. His eyes closed.

"...The first one is no longer applicable."

Gene looked down at his hands. "...I know, but, how could I not worry? I'm scared."

His brother sighed. "I can't help you with that."

"I know, I'm not asking you to," Gene said. "But there's just... a lot on my mind."

Noll frowned.

"You don't look well."

He grimaced. "How kind of you to notice."

"...It's not about school," Noll said. "Your girlfriend?"

Gene let out a small laugh, heaving his shoulders.

"I may have committed a grave error."

"...You sound like Martin."

"I think I want to dump her."

Noll looked irritated.

"Why are you telling me? Just do it."

Gene groaned.

Blunt as always.

"I don't know how to do it. ...Susanna's crazy for me, but she's not the one - Honestly, that girl gets on my nerves the whole time. She keeps demanding more time from me than I actually have! And -" Gene paused his rant when he noticed the bored look on Noll's face. "Never mind, I'll spare you the other details."

"Then dump her, and stop going after looks next time."

Gene let out a pitiful laugh.

"It's too soon, and, I want to break it to her gently."

"Just do it."

He sighed and took a step forward.

"...Noll, you don't _understand_. Do you know how it feels to get dumped. It's awful. - I'm sure goldilocks would cry, and I don't like making girls cry!"

Noll frowned. "Then stay with her if it bothers you that much."

He shook his head.

"No way."

Noll let out a deep sigh.

"Dump her and never look back again. You'll never see her cry that way."

"She's in my class! I can't just do that!"

Instead of replying to Gene's retort, Noll averted his gaze and walked around the desk. He sat down in the chair and pulled a book from the table.

"Noll?"

Noll sighed, then stared back at him with such intensity that Gene nearly froze on the spot. The words that came out of his brother's mouth made his jaw drop.

"Promise me not to date anyone for at least a year."

A stunned silence swept over the room.

Gene began to protest.

"How could you-"

"Focus on school _and_ your part-time job. We're not swimming in money."

Gene couldn't retort. Noll had a point.

"And I'm sure Luella would agree."

He gulped at that remark.

"...Fine," Gene said. "Fine! I'll give up on girls for a year!"

Noll lifted his book from the table and flipped the pages to a yellow bookmark.

"And anyone else of that matter."

Gene paled.

"...You bloody-"

"Promise me."

Noll didn't look up from the book. He was already reading. No further discussion was possible.

Gene sighed in resignation.

"I... promise."

"Hm. At least you're not denying it this time," Noll said.

"I never denied anything."

Noll didn't respond. His attention was lost in the book.

Despite Noll's indifference, Gene couldn't help but feel as if a veil was lifted from his face. It wasn't as if his brother hadn't already, but admitting it out loud to Noll was an entirely different matter. He couldn't even tell Luella that he had liked that guy. Even though she had already known for over a year, and even accepted it.

Gene sighed.

 _I guess I should tell her and Martin too, soon. And Lin._

He looked down at Noll.

"And... what about you? We're identical twins, but I've read it isn't always the same."

"Why do you ask?" Noll said, still focusing on the book.

Gene shrugged.

"I might as well ask since you know about me now."

His reply was immediate.

"I don't think about it at all."

"You don't?"

"I don't."

Gene could only frown at his brother's answers.

"Do you even know?"

Noll shrugged.

"How can you not know?"

"I'm not interested."

Gene was rendered speechless. His brother had always been something of a book nerd, rather than having any interest in people, _at all_ , but this still came as something of a surprise.

Perhaps he should approach the subject differently.

"You know, I realised it since I was like... twelve. When we entered high school - in the locker rooms, if you know what I mean. Did that happen to you?"

Noll's attention remained on the book, but Gene could see a frown appear on his face.

"Never."

"Are you even interested in having a relationship with someone?"

"Is there a reason why I should?"

Gene was taken aback.

"Really? Not even for the future?"

"I don't care. For now, I only care about doing research."

Gene snorted.

"What an idiot scientist. Life is not all about science! You might run into the girl or boy of your dreams and you won't know what's coming for you. At least give it some thought."

Noll looked up at him with an annoyed expression.

"Stop making assumptions. I didn't say I was opposed to the chance of it happening."

"Well, if you do end up caring, stop ignoring people and calling them pumpkins."

He shrugged.

"I can't help if most people don't interest me."

"Well," Gene said, smiling. "You'll figure it out one day."

Noll snorted.

"You're the one to say that. With your love troubles."

"Excuse me? You've never even fallen in love."

"You're not in love with your girlfriend either."

"But I..."

Gene wanted to protest, but he couldn't.

"Am I wrong?"

"No, you're right. I'm not in love, I don't love her. It's just physical attraction. And I can't help that okay?"

"It's still your choice to act on it," Noll said. "So stop making idiotic decisions."

Gene grit his teeth.

"I _know_. I learned my lesson."

Noll returned his attention to the book.

There was a silence.

Gene grimaced.

"So no relationships for a year, huh."

"Good."

He whimpered. "It feels like signing my own death sentence..."

"What?"

"...Never mind," Gene said.

Even before talking to Noll, Gene knew that his brother wouldn't be of any great help in this area. Still, it helped a little to talk to a more level-headed person. But it felt embarrassing to even admit that he had made mistakes due to irrational thoughts.

One of those mistakes was telling his parents he had a girlfriend.

He sighed.

"Damn it."

"What?"

"Luella is going to ask about my girlfriend. And worse, Madoka is with her. They'll gang up against me!"

Noll smirked.

"Not if Mr. Grey can distract her."

"Really?" Gene never met him before. "Is he a good fit for Madoka, Mr. Matchmaker?"

"Who knows. ...It's not an unwelcome surprise."

He smiled.

"Then I look forward to seeing them."

* * *

Noll waited by the arrival lobby in Narita International Airport. He was leaning against the wall, with his eyes closed. Next to him, Gene stood, tapping against the railing. He could imagine Gene's eyes scouring out the people leaving the exit. Most of which were tourists.

Due to the amount of luggage, the group was probably one of the last to go through immigration.

"I see Mr Grey," a voice said.

Lin stood behind Gene.

Noll opened his eyes and moved his gaze to a tall man rolling two suitcases out of the exit.

Timothy Grey looked around in slight confusion until he found Lin and the twins. He stopped and waved a hand at the group.

"Hello there!"

Noll raised his hand somewhat.

Suddenly, a trolley with various stacked boxes appeared into the lane. He was able to spot Madoka's bright hair and her squinting eyes.

Lin called out.

"Madoka, watch out!"

She stopped.

The trolley had nearly crashed into Grey's legs.

"Oh! Did I hit you?"

Grey turned.

"No, not at all. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stopped," he said. "Let me handle the trolley."

Madoka shook her head.

"...It's fine. We're almost there. The guys should be waiting..."

Lin stepped forward and greeted them.

"Let me help," he said.

"Oh, Lin. Good to see you again!" Madoka said as Lin took over the trolley. "And yes, thank you."

"It's no problem," Lin said. "Let's move over to that side.

Then he pushed the trolley out of the way. The boxes contained the last batch of books that he had left at home and the laboratory. He had asked Madoka to take those books with them, instead of sending them by airmail.

Madoka and Grey followed Lin, rolling their suitcases out of the lane.

Noll and Gene were left alone, presumably to give a moment with their parents.

They didn't have to wait much longer.

Their parents showed up soon after with their own suitcases. Luella broke into a smile at seeing her sons.

"Welcome to Japan!" Gene said, stretching his arms wide.

Noll stood stiffly beside him and grinned at them.

Luella walked over and pulled Gene into a hug.

"Happy to see us again?" He said.

"That would be an understatement! We missed you. It's been so quiet at home," Luella said.

"Yes... It's good to see the two of you again," Martin said.

He looked somewhat dishevelled and there was a weary smile on his face. Their father usually didn't take well to long flights.

Luella pulled away from Gene, then gave her sons a look.

"Goodness! The two of you have grown a lot. Right, Martin?"

Her husband nodded.

Luella pulled Noll into hug as well. He patted her back awkwardly.

"I think we're almost 175 centimetres?" Gene said, comparing the heights of his brother and parents.

Noll shrugged. He had no idea why they were making such a fuss.

"It paid off living with Lin. He gave us a couple." Gene pointed at Lin, who had hunched over the trolley a little. "See, he looks a bit shorter than usual!"

Noll groaned.

"Don't be stupid."

"I was just joking," Gene whispered.

It seemed like the man in question had noticed his name being mentioned, because Lin came over. He was immediately greeted by Luella's look of pity.

"Raising twins on your own must have been detrimental to your health," she said. "Look at those bags under your eyes!"

Lin shook his head.

"This is... nothing."

Luella turned to Gene.

"I hope you were kind to him..."

"Mother. Of course, we were~"

Gene forced a smile.

"Let's head to the van," Lin said. "You must be tired."

He returned to the trolley.

"Let's go," Noll said.

He was about to take Martin's luggage when Luella asked _the_ question.

"Oh by the way, Gene," she said. "How's your girlfriend? Is she coming to the Christmas dinner?"

Gene's smile froze.

"...Oh, uh, we broke up."

"He dumped her after a month," Noll clarified.

"Oh. ...Really?" Luella said with a frown. "I didn't peg you for type to dump someone so quickly."

Gene lifted his hands in defence.

"...It's not like I wanted to be the one to do the dumping. I had no choice! I swear!"

"What happened?" Luella asked with a worried expression.

"Well, there are more fish in the sea," Martin said, patting his son on the shoulder.

Gene groaned and put a hand to his forehead.

"Look, can we talk about this later and go to the van?"

He whirled around.

"Where have Madoka and Mr Grey gone to? I don't see them anymore."

"Aren't they following Lin?" Luella said.

Gene shook his head. "Lin is waiting for us over there alone."

Martin stared at the crowd inside the airport and squinted.

"Have we lost them?"

"Oh! I see them," Luella pointed at a bookshop further down the hall. "Our two lovebirds are over there."

Noll sighed.

Of course, Mr. Grey was easily distracted.

"I'll go get them." Noll pushed Martin's suitcase into his brother's direction. "Gene, handle the suitcase for me."

"I'll go with you."

Luella hooked her arm into Noll's arm. He looked down at her.

"What? We haven't done this in such a long time," she said with a warm smile.

Noll did not protest, so they walked over to Madoka who stood together with the tall and lanky man.

Grey hadn't changed much since they met earlier this year, though his brown curly hair seemed longer than usual. The pair was looking at a stand of Mount Fuji. Well, they weren't really looking. Madoka and Grey were animatedly talking about climbing Mount Fuji, even though it didn't seem to be the right time of the year for such an expedition.

Madoka was the first to notice their presence.

"Noll!"

"Mr. Grey, Madoka."

Grey turned around and showed a happy smile on his freckled face.

"A pleasure to meet you again, Oliver," he said.

"Likewise," Noll said.

Grey gestured at the stand.

"I'm sorry, this beautiful illustration caught my attention. I've always wanted to do mountain climbing... A proper mountain. You know what I mean."

Noll showed a weak smile. Grey had mentioned that on occasion in his lectures.

"Shall we go now?" Luella said. "Unfortunately, my husband was unable to sleep during the flights."

Grey laughed.

"Of course."

Lin and Gene loaded most of the luggage into the van.

They had planned on taking the suitcases to the hotel, after visiting the office. That way, the group wouldn't have to worry about handling suitcases inside the trains. Neither Noll or Gene had a driver's license, so it wasn't possible to take the entire group by car.

Noll was about to take the other seat in the front when he heard Gene's voice.

"Can't I go with you, Lin?"

"I can drive by myself," Lin said, staring at Gene. "Accompany your parents. You haven't seen them in a long time. You too, Noll."

Noll sighed.

"But I don't want to be stuck as the fifth wheel in that group." Gene gestured at the lovey-dovey couple behind him: Grey and Madoka. "I broke up with my ex a couple of days ago... I can't stand looking at happy couples for at least a few weeks," he said. "So please?"

The man bluntly spoke.

"You have Noll."

Noll frowned at Lin's reply.

"He's my brother, not my boyfriend!" Gene hissed.

"Did you just say 'my boyfriend'?" Luella said.

Gene's face grew pale. It seemed like she overheard part of the conversation.

She inclined her head.

"Well, where have you hidden him this time?"

He turned around and shouted. "It's not like that, Mother!"

She grinned.

"In a suitcase? A cupboard?"

"NO."

Luella turned around with a satisfied look on her face.

"Ugh... Please, Lin," Gene begged. "Please let me come with you."

The man sighed.

"Alright. But promise me to unload Noll's book inventory and your mother's luggage once we arrive. They nearly broke my back just now."

"Fine..."

* * *

Sitting with three people in the front seats of the van was uncomfortable, so Noll was glad that avoid that situation. However, Gene's absence meant that he was taking the brunt of the conversations in the train to Tokyo.

Martin and Luella bombarded him with all kinds of questions about his life in Japan so far. On the other hand, Grey was visibly excited to be in Japan and asked Noll for recommendations on what to do. Noll had a hard time suggesting whatever the man would be interested in. In the end, he recommended what Gene liked the most from their summer trip. Such as visiting Uji, eating takoyaki in Osaka, and going up the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower for a good view of the Tokyo skyline. Noll couldn't help but resent the absent Gene _and_ Madoka. The latter seemed amused with his attempts at casual conversations about tourist attractions and daily life in Japan.

Noll was glad when they arrived in Shibuya to see the office. Noll was glad to see the group, but it was tiring to be the centre of attention for so long.

The visit to the office was short.

Noll made tea for the guests, while Madoka inspected every corner of the office, making sure it was impeccable and representative. Gene and Lin returned to the office soon after. His brother was made to carry every single box until he cursed; it seemed like Lin had gotten fed up with him during the return trip. Lin had sighed in relief when Madoka approved of the changes made to the interior. She had been quite the slave-driver in the past months.

Madoka suggested that they should take a part-timer to take care of the trivial things in the office. Noll responded that hadn't decided on it yet. He wanted to settle down first, do research and potentially take on a case in the upcoming months.

After the inspection, they travelled to the hotel to check in and have dinner.

While waiting for their drinks to arrive, the couples discussed their plans with the twins and Lin. In short, the couples would spend the first week in Tokyo to celebrate Christmas together with them. After that week, Luella and Martin would fly to Hokkaido in order to see the ice sculpture festival. They they would travel back to Tokyo to meet up with their sons for the last time, before returning to England. On the other hand, Madoka and Timothy planned on spending time in her home town, to visit her parents and grandparents. They opted to stay longer in Japan so that they could visit some touristic sights in Kyoto and Osaka.

After their drinks arrived, Luella's interrogation of Gene began.

"Gene, let's get back to what we were talking about earlier."

"N-now?"

Luella frowned.

"Yes, what happened to that child?"

Martin nodded.

"You looked very happy in the photo you sent us about a month ago."

Apparently, Gene had sent them a photo of him and his ex girlfriend at the cinema. Noll remembered it went downhill right after.

"It didn't work out. We weren't compatible," Gene muttered.

"Just take it easy, my boy," Martin said. "Don't rush. Next time take the time to get to know each other."

"Well said, Martin." Luella said.

"I know, I know." Gene sighed. "Can we please talk about something else right now?"

Noll nodded.

"I agree."

"Of course," Luella said. "Let's not sour the mood too early."

"Good." Gene turned his head to his other side. "Oh, nice necklace. Haven't seen that one before?"

He stared down at the necklace around Madoka's neck. It was a delicate-looking and simplistic silver-coloured necklace with an amethyst pendant.

Noll raised an eyebrow. It was a strange turn in the conversation. Gene never paid attention to jewellery before.

"It's a gift from Timothy. For my birthday. Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, very much. It suits you."

Their parents made noises of agreement.

Gene winked at Noll.

 _(See, Noll? You'd better take note of that.)_

Noll frowned.

 _(...Take note of what?)_

 _(Mr. Grey, my dear matchmaker.)_ Gene took a sip of his tea and winked at Noll. _(Pretty jewellery always makes a good birthday gift. You'll impress for sure!)_

Noll didn't quite understand. Why was Gene telling him this?

"So," Madoka started. "How's school? Is your Japanese getting any better?"

"Just fine," Gene said. "I caught up without problem."

"Wow. That's great to hear!"

Gene smiled.

"Yeah, and I've got tons of friends."

"You're probably very popular, aren't you?" Madoka winked.

Gene laughed awkwardly.

The subject caused Lin to speak up suddenly.

"He showed me some of the love letters he received," he said. "Two girls asked him out after he broke up."

"Lin!"

Madoka laughed.

"What a show off!"

Gene hung his head. "Guys, please..."

"Oh wow, I'm impressed," Grey said, seemingly admiring him.

"As expected," their parents said in a chore, completely unsurprised.

"I turned them down though!" Gene said.

Luella frowned.

"I didn't peg you as the type to turn down a girl."

"No, it's this guy over there." Gene pointed at Noll. "I promised him I wouldn't get into any relationships for at least a year. Noll thinks I need to chill."

She looked at her other son.

"Really?"

"Yes," Noll said. "He needs to focus on studying and making money."

A stunned silence overcame the group.

"And it's not like I actually had interest those girls, so yeah..." Gene muttered. "It was for the best."

Suddenly, a chuckle came from the other end of the table. It was Lin.

Martin blinked.

"Lin?"

"What's there to laugh about?" Gene said.

"I'm sorry." Lin put a hand against his face. "It's just that Noll sounded like he's your parent."

The whole group, except the twins, began to laugh.

Gene whined.

"Noll! I didn't ask for another adoption!"

"Shut up, Gene."

Then their food arrived.

At the other end of the table, Madoka, Timothy and even Lin talked enthusiastically about something he couldn't hear over Luella and Gene's loud voices. So Noll quietly ate while watching those two and Martin engage into familiar conversations.

It felt like home, and yet it wasn't.

But for now he felt content.

* * *

Timothy pulled the thin curtains away from the window and watched the streets below. It was awfully busy down there.

Visiting Japan had been somewhere on his wish list, but it was somewhere below other faraway countries such as Singapore, Canada, the Philippines and Australia. He had various friends living those countries from his time as a student, and he had promised to visit them if the opportunity arose. He never would have expected that he would visit Japan this year - together with his girlfriend.

It all started with that fateful meeting at the university in May.

His heart had been whisked away the moment he met Madoka, but his mind itched to catch up and rationalise these strange emotions. Knowing that Oliver Davis held her in high esteem, only raised his curiosity. That day he lost all of his concentration; he had kept glancing at her card and it was up to him to contact her. Timothy wanted to talk to her, but he lacked the bravery to do so for at least a few weeks. When he made the call, she responded positively. Their date followed the next week; a meeting in a simple coffee house near the university. He found out that Madoka was a very funny person, in addition to being impressive. Despite looking quite young she was already in her late twenties, not much younger than himself.

In the weeks following that meeting, it got busy for both of them. Timothy was tasked with grading theses of graduating students and preparing for the arrival of new students at the college. Madoka, on the other hand, busied herself with arranging work permits for the new SPR branch in Japan as well as visas for Lin and the twins.

After everything subsided, Madoka contacted him again; she invited Timothy to the Pratt Laboratory. He accepted immediately. Timothy was a little sad that he didn't find Oliver at work there, however, he was happy to meet Lin, who became Madoka's co-tour guide. It was a relatively small place, but packed with various interesting machinery. Apparently, a selection of that equipment would be sent over to Japan once an appropriate place for the branch office would be found. Lin spoke in great detail about what he was doing there. Timothy listened attentively and asked many questions, which Lin answered in kind.

After the tour, Timothy mustered the courage to invite her to dinner the very next week, then the ball started to roll. Over the next few months they met his parents and now they were in Japan to meet _her_ parents.

The door of the bathroom opened.

"It's your turn."

He dropped the curtains from his fingers and looked back into the room.

"Right."

Madoka wore a towel over her wet hair.

Timothy grabbed his pyjamas and other necessities.

"Ah. You have an email notification."

She was sat on the bed and glanced at his open laptop.

Timothy usually received a pop-up notification whenever he received an email. He didn't want to miss anything important, after all.

"Let me see."

He sat down next on the edge of the bed and took the laptop, then clicked on his inbox.

 _ **New Private Message at Parapsychology Forum.**_

Timothy frowned. He had not posted on that site for at least a half year.

"Well, this is surprising... Who could it be?"

"Can I see?" Madoka asked. He pulled the screen down a little. "On parapsychology?"

Timothy nodded.

"Yes, I posted in a discussion thread on quantum physics."

"Oh, I know this site."

"You do?"

Madoka showed a weak smile.

"I've looked at it a couple of times, but it didn't seem friendly at all."

"Well, that doesn't surprise me... Many sceptics frequent that board as well," Timothy said.

He clicked on the email.

 _ **Invitation**_

 _ **From: Dave S.**_

 _ **You can view your new message by clicking on the following link:**_

Timothy blinked. He didn't remember talking to Dave S.

He clicked on the provided link. After logging in, he was lead to the private message.

Judging by the bold nickname, Dave S. seemed to be a moderator of the board.

 _ **Dear GreyTimeLord,**_

 _ **I appreciated your thoughtful contributions to the thread "Can the future influence the past?". The notion that psychic abilities should be used to solve problems of individual persons as well as society spoke to me on a personal level.**_

 _ **Recently, a falling-out occurred between the administrators of the Parapsychology Forums and caused a division between many forum members. In light of this recent dispute, I decided to create a private message board called AltPSI, where those of the same alignment may discuss in peace without being harassed by others.**_

 _ **I would like to extend an invitation to you. Please click on the link below to register:**_

A link followed the message.

Timothy couldn't help but feel confused at this invitation.

Madoka giggled.

"Grey time lord? Is that how you got into quantum physics?"

Timothy blushed.

"Well, I have to admit where it got started," he said. "But this is odd, don't you think?"

"Yes, it seems like he is cherry picking the members who align with his opinion," Madoka said. "It's strange that he went through the trouble of mentioning your contributions to this board."

Timothy vaguely remembered agreeing to the latter sentiment in that thread. But it had been prompted by a fellow quantum researcher rather than himself.

"...I have to agree," he said. "In any case, it's time for a bath."

He turned off the laptop and went to the bathroom.

Timothy felt a little curious alright. He himself didn't bother with the message board after a few weeks, but he could very well imagine it was ripe with disputes between the board members. It could be quite interesting if he joined the invite only board for serious discussions. But that's something he could do after returning to England.

For now, he wanted to enjoy Japan along with Madoka. It was far more important than a bunch of strangers quibbling on the internet.

He sighed, turning on the water.

Earlier today, Oliver mentioned something about the Mori Tower of Roppongi Hills. It seemed that the top floors housed a museum, and that the sight on the top floor was very impressive. Especially at night.

It seemed like a good place to propose.

Timothy shook his head.

No! It was far too early for this. He hadn't dated her for so long, and he had yet to meet her parents. Timothy wanted to do everything in a proper order. First, meet the parents. Second, wait until they were ready. Then buy a ring... He shook his head again. He was getting ahead of himself!

Timothy stepped into the bath and relaxed.

Still, proposing to Madoka Mori in the Mori Tower sounded like a brilliant idea.

Timothy always enjoyed a good pun. He'd have to thank Oliver for that one later!

* * *

 **Author's note**

My apologies, I was unable to to update any sooner. Real life got in the way!

I hope you enjoy the story so far. It ended quite positively. This chapter wraps up the end of the first arc. Gene still has troubles with romance, but at least he made it out alive. :P

The next chapter marks the beginning of the second arc. It's the long-awaited reunion with Mai, whom we haven't seen since chapter 4 "Hiraeth". Of course, we will also meet the other characters. Look forward to it! I had a lot of fun writing these chapters so I guerantee entertainment. =)


	12. The Coming of Spring

**Chapter 11: The Coming of Spring**

 **Tokyo, March 2007**

Loud footsteps and muffled voices from the hallway came and went.

The boarding house was unusually busy this morning, but Kazumi was able to sleep through the commotion with ease.

Several weeks ago, some of her fellow boarders had decided to go on a weekend trip to Kyoto. Kazumi had declined to go with them as she had to work a part-time job in the evenings.

Then there was one more thing... She had promised to help the old lady this morning.

But what was it again?

"Kazu-chan~! Are you up?"

Kazumi groaned into her pillow, then opened her eyes.

Faint light filtered through the curtains.

"Kazu-chan! Could you help our new boarder out for a minute?"

Oh, _that._

Kazumi proceeded to drag herself off the futon.

"I'm coming. Give me a minute!"

After entering the sanitary room in a hurry, she fixed up her hair and brushed her teeth.

"Kazu-chan!"

She spit out the contents of her mouth.

"One more minute!"

Kazumi returned to her room, passing the empty room next to hers.

Her old classmate had gone and left for a different town, leaving an empty space for a new boarder.

Another orphan, just like her.

Kazumi changed into her home outfit: a simple hoodie and grey trousers. It didn't look presentable, but that didn't matter at all. That girl was going to see this side of her every day of the week.

What was the new kid's name again? Tanikawa, or something?

The landlady yelled again.

"Kazu-chan!"

Kazumi yelled back.

"I'm coming right now!"

She rushed down the hallway and went down the stairs.

"Ah, there you are, Kazu-chan."

In the entranceway she found Akiko standing next to an unknown girl in an unfamiliar school uniform. She was petite, and her hair was short and brown. The girl was very ordinary looking at first sight.

They were surrounded by several cardboard boxes of various sizes. Some of them looked very heavy. The landlady's cat had perched itself on top of a smaller box and yawned contently.

Akiko put a hand on her hip.

"What took you so long? You know I can't move heavy boxes upstairs anymore."

Kazumi chuckled, somewhat embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I stayed up late last night reading this amazing book," she said, then looked at the girl. "Hi, my name is Kazumi. And you are?"

The girl bowed her head.

"I'm Taniyama Mai. Pleased to meet you, Kazumi-san."

Kazumi waved her hand down.

"Whoa. Don't be so stiff!" she said, "We're gonna live together, so just call me Kazumi, okay?"

"Or Kazu-chan," Akiko supplied with a grin.

"K-Kazu-chan?" Mai said, obviously trying not to giggle. "Is that okay?"

She let out a dry laugh.

"...Yeah! That's fine too," she said, wearily. "Just think of me as your older sister."

The landlady coughed.

"Well, don't just stand there. Help Mai get her luggage up to her room."

She saluted.

"Yes, granny~"

Kazumi helped the girl carry all the boxes upstairs.

She hadn't heard much about the girl from Akiko. Only that Mai had been offered a scholarship at her alma mater, which is how Kazumi ended up here as well several years ago.

The high school had assigned all students with that particular scholarship to a boarding house like this one, and paid two thirds of their rent while they were still enrolled. Most girls left as soon as they graduated from the school, but Kazumi had stuck around.

It didn't take long for Mai and Kazumi to finish moving all of the luggage into the room.

Kazumi stretched her arms upwards.

"Well, there you go."

"Thank you!" Mai said. "...I'm sorry you had to help out."

She made a sheepish expression.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I promised to help out today, plus, it's good morning exercise."

Mai snorted.

"Morning exercise?"

"Yeah." She grinned. "I'm all awake now."

The girl laughed. That was the first time she smiled since they met.

It was a wonderful smile, Kazumi thought.

 _I bet she'll be popular at school..._

Mai crouched down, then opened a box.

"Wait," Kazumi said. "Before you unpack, can I show you around for a minute?"

She blinked.

"Of course."

After heading out of the room, Kazumi pointed out who lived in the other rooms. Eight women lived in the boarding house, including the landlady. Most were high schoolers like Mai, but Kazumi and another graduate lived there too. She also showed a sanitary room, which only contained a toilet and a sink.

"This building is very old, as you can see." Kazumi knocked her knuckles lightly against the wooden wall. "It was built right after the war, so it doesn't even have a proper bathroom like in most modern homes."

Mai grimaced. "...Yeah, the landlady warned me about that."

Kazumi closed the door.

"It's not the type of building anyone would want to live in these days, so most girls get out of here as soon as they can."

"I see." Mai inclined her head. "How about you, Kazumi-san? How long have you lived here?"

"Me? I've been here since I graduated from middle school for about... two years already? So, five years in total. I've seen a lot of girls come and go."

"That's kind of long."

"It is, but I'm not in a hurry to move," Kazumi said.

Mai looked at the door of her own room.

"Then what about the person who lived here previously?"

"Ah, that's Hikaru, my old classmate." Kazumi sighed. "We stuck together for a long time..."

Mai made a sad smile.

"You must have felt sad to watch her go..."

Kazumi tilted her head and frowned.

"Well, it can't be helped; she got a job offer in Fukuoka. And we still keep contact, so it isn't the end of the world."

"...Right."

They headed back to Mai's room.

"So, um, can I ask you something?" Kazumi said. "About your past circumstances? I'm a bit curious."

Mai blinked.

"Sure, ask away."

Kazumi let out a deep breath.

"Let's sit down."

Even though it was something all the girls at the boarding house had in common, it remained a delicate topic. It could be something they could bond over, but Kazumi had learned that some girls did not like talking about their past. She knew and understood that, because in the end, a common past was only one fraction of the basis of their friendship.

Still, it was something that they could talk about. The earlier she breached the subject, the easier it was to bond. She could judge how things would go from there.

At least very least, Mai didn't seem to mind.

After they sat down on the floor, Kazumi said: "What's your story?"

Mai furrowed her eyebrows. "My story?"

"Well, how did you end up here? Where did you live before this?"

For some reason, Mai's gaze shifted to the box next to her. Clothes peeked out of the gap on top.

"Um, do you mind if I unpack my clothes while talking?"

Kazumi raised an eyebrow.

"Go ahead. I don't mind."

 _Damn, maybe I was too direct._

Nevertheless, she let Mai talk.

In short, Mai's father had died from an illness when she was a young child, and her mother had died in an accident.

Going by the shakiness in her voice, her death was still fresh in Mai's mind. After all, only a few years had passed since then. There was no doubt in Kazumi's mind that Mai has had a very tough time since then.

With a weak smile, Mai explained how she went from living with a teacher to living on her own in a boarding house.

"Oh? Was it anything like this one?"

"That house was also an old building, but... I felt a little out of the place there."

"How come?"

"Well, all the others were college-aged or working women."

"I see..."

Kazumi tried to picture a middle schooler hanging out with young women of the age of twenty and older in her mind. She could imagine that didn't mesh well.

"All of them were friendly people though. The landlord and his wife were really nice too. I felt sad about leaving them behind."

"Well, on the bright side," Kazumi said. "now you have people closer to your age, all good people, and there will be lots of new friends at school. So don't worry about not fitting in here."

Mai's face brightened up at hearing that.

"I look forward to seeing the others," she said. "And I can't wait for high school next week. ...I wonder what my classmates are like."

Kazumi liked Mai's way of thinking. It was a new and exciting phase of her life. Focusing on the future would help not to linger in the past and forge her own path.

"Well, as your senpai, you can always run to me for advice!"

"Huh? You went to the same school?"

She laughed.

"Of course! All of us have. ...Except granny."

Mai slapped a hand against her forehead.

"Oh, I forgot about that. Sorry."

"It's no big deal," she said. "But I should say sorry too. I should have talked about myself first instead of asking you out of the blue."

Mai shook her head.

"No, it's fine! I'm the new one here after all."

Kazumi smiled.

"Well, as for me...My parents died young too. To be honest I don't quite remember them well. I got taken in by my aunt, but me and that old-fashioned woman didn't get along. I wanted to hurry and get out as soon as possible. And that's how I ended up here."

"I see." Mai blinked. "It sounds like we've been in a similar situation."

"Hmm. Sort of."

Kazumi sighed.

"Well, I won't keep you from unpacking. Let's talk later okay? I'm going to grab some food too..."

"Of course" Mai said. "Thank you very much for helping... Kazumi-sa-, I mean, Kazu-chan."

"Ahahaha! No problem, Taniyama!" Kazumi said. "I'm heading out to work after this, so let's have dinner together, okay? I bet granny will make us something delicious!"

"I'd love to!"

After leaving Mai in her room, Kazumi went downstairs to the kitchen. She found Akiko pouring tea at the counter.

"Is the tea for Taniyama?"

Akiko turned around.

"Yes. I'll take it upstairs," she said. "Your breakfast is on the table."

"Oh~Thanks, Gran."

"Kazu-chan, you seem to have taken a liking to her."

Kazumi grimaced. Was it that obvious?

"Well, yeah... She seems like a great girl."

The old woman frowned a little.

"What's the matter, Kazu-chan?"

Akiko seemed to have noticed the bitter smile on her face.

"She doesn't have any other living family members, does she?" Kazumi said.

Akiko nodded with a sad expression.

Kazumi sighed and headed to the dinner table. She sat down and ate slowly.

For some reason, Mai reminded her of Hikaru. She had a bright smile and a cheerful disposition, but when it came down to parting ways with people... she was very sentimental.

She had spent weeks being happy that she got the job she had always dreamed of, and yet, a few nights ago Hikaru had cried her tears out before she left to Fukuoka the next day. She confessed to hating leaving everything behind and starting all over again. Hikaru was scared of losing contact with everyone in Tokyo.

Kazumi swallowed and put her chopsticks down.

 _Ah, that's right. Hikaru was all alone too._

* * *

 **Tokyo, April 2007: Day 1, Wednesday**

Lin opened the door to the balcony of his bedroom. It was somewhat rainy, but otherwise it was a fine Wednesday morning. Generally, he preferred optimal temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees celsius. Not too warm and not too cold. So he had longed for the first rays of sunlight in spring. These days, the early mornings were no longer chilly for a morning smoke, so he stood outside, looking at the sky.

He took a deep breath of fresh air.

 _Spring, at last._

Winter had never been Lin's favorite season. That's why he always reminded himself that spring would not be far behind as a famous poet once said.

Lin pulled a cigarette pack and a lighter out of his pocket.

He didn't want to reflect on it much, but... the months after Christmas could accurately be summarized as 'hell'.

Lin wished he had requested a raise before Martin and Luella had returned to England.

Each and every day Lin was reminded of the fact that he was taking care of two teenagers. Teenagers who were unleashed in a country faraway from their parental units.

Martin and Luella were two people, but Lin was on his own.

Noll was the sole reason that Lin had considered returning to Japan. For a boy of his age, he almost behaved like an adult. However, the occasional stubborn childish behaviour was enough to make Lin forget that Noll was mature for his age. Not to mention that Noll could be even grumpier than Lin himself during the cold weather. Their common dislike for the cold weather also added to the somberness in the household, which affected Gene to the point that he would try to 'cheer' them up.

A lost cause, Lin thought while blowing out the smoke from his mouth.

The greatest surprise of the winter wasn't anything paranormal; rather, it was when Gene had come out as bisexual.

At first, Lin had nodded, simply because he didn't know how else to react.

After all, it didn't change his perception of Gene (who was truthfully still a teenage brat).

However, Gene was obviously fishing for some verbal reaction. Martin and Luella were already made aware during their stay in Japan, but Gene had taken another a month to tell Lin. He could only guess it must have been quite difficult for Gene, so Lin complimented his courage to tell him and the others. It had been awkward, but apparently it meant a lot to Gene who preferred to be favoured by the people he liked.

At Lin's suggestion, Gene informed Madoka as well a few days later. She had joked about setting him up with some nice boys she knew, after which Noll prompted to extend Gene's dating ban by another full year.

If Lin hadn't been present during that Skype call, Gene would probably have throttled his brother on the spot.

As far as Lin knew, Gene had not given into temptation yet. But, he had whined, he had whined a lot.

Gene was the resident popular boy who couldn't cope without flirting or dating people.

Eventually, both Noll and Lin had told him off for being a nuisance.

He sighed.

 _No need to think about it anymore. It's spring, enjoy the spring._

Lin looked down at the neighbourhood and grimaced at the asphalt.

After learning about the incident which had occurred nearly a year ago, not a single day went by without thinking:

It happened here.

The police had ruled out murder suicide, but even Lin couldn't help but think about the alternatives. He had considered asking Noll to perform a reading on the balcony railing, but when he brought up the topic in front of Gene...

 _"No, don't let him."_

It was a simple curiosity, but some things were better left alone.

So he never brought it up again.

Lin put out his cigarette and returned to his bedroom, where he deposited it in the ashtray.

Then he stepped out of the bedroom and found Gene on the sofa.

He was munching on a piece on bread, zapping channels in front of the television.

"Gene, could you take care of the laundry today?"

"Good mornin' Lin, and sure."

The household duties were divided over the three of them, though Lin did most of the cooking.

It had been clear from the beginning that the twins had little experience with cooking. On the bright side, they improved admirably. Lin guided them wherever he could, but he was mostly hands off with his approach. Gene usually chose the dishes and recipes, while Noll helped with doing the menial tasks.

Lin found the person in question studying some notes at the dinner table.

Yesterday, the principal of a certain high school in Tokyo had knocked on their door and requested an investigation. Noll deemed the case as 'somewhat promising', though Lin was fairly sure that the boy was starting to get bored rather than deeply interested in whatever this case had to offer scientifically.

"Should I come with you?"

"That won't be necessary," Noll said. "You can simply drop me off at the school."

"Then I'll wait for you in the van," Lin said.

"Do as you wish."

Gene passed by the table.

"Is this a preliminary investigation or are you guys going all out?"

"The former," Lin said. "Noll will be meeting the principal to discuss some practical matters, in addition to visiting the old school building."

"Well, that sounds promising," Gene said. "When's the appointment?"

"In the afternoon," Noll replied.

They had been waiting for the latest state-of-the-art cameras and other equipment to be made, which is why it had taken so long to take on a case. Lin preferred to purchase cutting edge equipment rather than transferring the obsolete tools from the laboratory in Cambridge over to Japan. By January all equipment needed for a proper investigation had arrived at the office from overseas. It was time to seriously consider taking on requests for investigations.

Lin looked forward to taking on their new challenge and see what it would bring.

* * *

"I'm home~"

Akiko peeked through the door gap of her room and looked at the entryway.

Mai was taking off her shoes in the entryway.

"Welcome back, Mai-chan," Akiko said. "How was school?"

"Just the usual," Mai said, putting her shoes on the shoe rack. "I had some fun with friends after school though."

"Club activities?"

The girl smiled awkwardly.

"Ah no, we were telling... ghost stories."

Someone chuckled.

"Ghost stories?" A different voice said. "They still do that in the first year, huh?"

Mai blinked and looked up at the staircase.

"Ah, Azusa-senpai... You've done it too?"

The one who came down was a tall girl with curly hair dyed blonde. Though she looked somewhat like a delinquent by the way she modified her school uniform, she was in fact a hard-working girl who excelled at her studies.

"No, I hate ghost stories," Azusa said. "They give me the creeps."

Akiko chuckled. "That reminds me, you hate horror films. Right, Azu-chan?"

The third year student covered her eyes.

"I hate them, I hate them."

Mai gasped. "Really? I love them!"

"Mai-chan, tell her a ghost story. Perhaps she'll like it."

Azusa crossed her arms.

"Don't tease me, Gran! I won't be able to sleep!"

Akiko laughed.

"Well," Mai said. "Something strange did happen today."

"N-no way."

"What happened?"

Mai put her school bag down.

"My friends and I were in the audiovisual room, and after we were done with telling ghost stories, some guy showed up at the end."

"A guy?"

"We didn't notice him come in, so he really scared us at first."

"...Who is he?"

"A transfer student..." Mai frowned. "Or something like that."

Azusa frowned as well. "Huh? What year is he in?"

"That's the thing. He said he was seventeen this year."

"So a second year student," Azusa said, then paused. "But why did he mention his age instead of his school year?"

Mai shrugged. "That's what I was wondering too."

"That's strange indeed," Akiko said.

"I mentioned it to my friends, but they're crazy for him..." Mai groaned. "They even invited him to tell ghost stories with us tomorrow afternoon!"

"Crazy, why?"

She rolled her eyes.

"He's handsome, that's why."

Azusa grinned.

"Hoooh, I like where this is going," she said. "Tell me more."

Mai sighed again.

"Well, he's tall and as pale as a ghost. His face is really beautiful... He didn't wear a school uniform, but he wore all black."

"Hmm, I haven't seen anyone like that around, but I could ask Konomi about him. What's his name?"

Konomi was a second year student who lived in the boarding house.

"His name is Shibuya," Mai said.

* * *

 **Tokyo, April 2007: Day 2, Thursday**

The next day, Noll woke up to gentle snores. He stared at the other side of the room.

Gene wouldn't be up until half an hour later.

Sleeping with his brother in the same room had taken a while to get used to, but now it seemed like second nature.

Noll got up and went to the bathroom. He washed his face and changed into his sweat clothes.

Then he knocked on Lin's door.

"Come in."

Noll opened the door.

"Good morning."

Lin was already awake. Two mats were laid on the floor.

"Good morning. Shall we get started?"

Every morning they exercised in Lin's bedroom. It was the only room in the apartment which had enough place for both of them to stretch. The living room was the biggest room, but it was a bother to move the furniture out of the way.

Noll nodded and took place on the mat.

"Yes, let's keep it short."

Lin smiled.

"Excited for the investigation?"

Noll shrugged.

"I wouldn't call it excitement.

Yesterday's preliminary investigation went as expected.

Noll had been able to wrap up the meeting with the school principal without too much trouble. The principal seemed like a rather proud man who wished for the issue of the old school building to be solved quickly. The practical matters were quickly dealt with, however, it was clear that the principal was suspicious of the fact that Noll was a teenager.

After inspecting the old school building with Lin, Noll went back and talked to some of the students. It turned out to be difficult to walk around as many girls were enamored by his looks.

And so, Noll had decided on the tactic of talking to individuals or smaller groups.

The students that caught his attention the most were four girls in the audiovisual room.

As coincidence would have it, the girls were talking about ghost stories of all things. The girls were engrossed in the stories to the point that they hadn't noticed him slipping in. He couldn't help but listen to them.

Obviously they were incredibly relieved and excited that their intruder was a handsome young 'senior'.

Except for one.

He didn't like the look she gave or whatever she said to him. But at least she seemed less brainless than the other female high school students who were with her.

Not bad, he had to admit.

"Noll?"

Lin gave him a blank stare.

"You were spacing out."

Noll sighed.

"Sorry about that."

After the morning exercise was done, Noll took a shower.

When he returned to the living room he found Gene chewing on a piece of bread in front of the television.

"Morning Noll," he said with a full mouth.

Normally they ate breakfast around the table. It seemed like Lin didn't mind it at all, so Gene had taken full advantage of his newfound freedom.

Luella would definitely have scolded this new habit.

"...Morning."

Noll took his own breakfast from the kitchen and sat down at the table.

He too had taken to reading while eating breakfast. His reading material for today was related to the current case.

After breakfast, Lin and Noll were ready to depart.

"Leaving early, huh."

Gene stood in the doorway to the living room.

"Good luck," he said. "If you need help, give me a ring..."

Gene knocked against the side of his head with a grin.

Noll looked away. Actually, he didn't want to rely on Gene that much.

The drive to the school was uneventful, and more than anything, Lin seemed to be in high spirits.

After all, it would be the first time they would use the new equipment in a case.

The road to the old school building was surrounded by blossoming cherry trees.

Even Noll had to admit it was quite the sight.

When they stopped the van near the old school building, some students were walking by. They threw curious glances into their direction, and when Noll stepped out, he heard some of them whispering.

"Does it have to do with the old school building?"

"Yeah, I heard some strange things about it."

Some other comments were about his looks.

Noll ignored them and met up with Lin behind the van.

Then he paused, and turned his head.

 _I should have talked to them._

He sighed. If Gene were here, he'd have dragged them back and talked to them about any rumors.

"What's the matter?" Lin asked.

"It's nothing," Noll said, and looked at his assistant. "Set up a camera in the entry hall. Then bring in the other equipment in the room we assigned as the base."

He nodded.

"Understood."

"I'll have a look around and take some measurements of the building."

"Very well."

Lin grabbed a camera and headed into the building.

Noll took a measuring tape and a notepad, and went around the building. After this he would have to measure all the rooms.

 _What a pain._

He didn't find it the most enjoyable task, but he'd rather do this than carrying in the equipment.

It happened when Noll noted the measurements down behind the back of the building.

A crash from the inside.

A yell that resembled a young woman's voice.

His jaw slacked.

"Don't tell me something has..."

He dropped the notepad and measuring tape, and headed back.

The school chimes could be heard from a distance.

Noll hurried to the entrance, but when he arrived a girl's voice coming from inside the building.

"Are you okay!?"

 _Who is that?_

"What happened?" Noll called out.

A shoe shelf had fallen over. Lin was on the floor, and the girl stood next to him. She turned and gave him a look of surprise.

He rushed over while looking from the girl to Lin.

"Lin?"

Noll looked at the girl and frowned.

 _She's the one from yesterday..._

"What happened?"

"Well, uh..."

Lin's body moved when she was about to answer. Noll looked down at him.

"- Are you injured?"

Lin didn't deny or confirm it, but only muttered something. Blood flowed from beneath his forelock to his chin and dropped down to the floor to form dark spots.

"Um, I'm sorry! I was surprised and-" The girl said, her voice panicked. Then she addressed Lin, reaching out her hand to him. "Are you okay?"

Noll stopped her from doing so and checked Lin's injury. It was a small wound.

"You're a bit cut up. ...Is there anything else?"

"I'm fine."

Lin moved his body, but grimaced when he tried to stand on his feet.

"Can you stand up? How about your leg?"

"...It's nothing," Lin said with a pained expression. Sweat began to form on his forehead.

The girl spoke up again.

"I'm really sorry. You called me out all of sudden and it surprised me..."

Noll frowned. She still had the nerve to put the blame on Lin after all that had happened?

"Never mind your excuse," he said in an icy tone, glaring at her. "You're that girl I met yesterday, right?"

"...Yes."

She obviously seemed bothered by his cold attitude, but Noll wasn't in the mood to fake a smile. He was tired of playing a farce.

"I'd rather have a hospital over excuses. Are there any doctors around here?"

"There's one as soon as you get out of the school gate and turn around the corner..."

Noll lent Lin his shoulder and looked at the girl.

"Help me support him from there."

However, Lin slapped her hand away as soon as she was about to do that.

"No thank you. I don't need your help."

A deep scowl formed on her face. Noll couldn't help but feel irritated by her reaction, but he decided to ignore that feeling.

First, he needed to get Lin to a doctor. He'd deal with that girl later.

"Lin, can you walk?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

Noll turned to gaze at the girl.

"What's your name?"

"My name is... Taniyama."

"Well then, Taniyama-san. We'll be fine here, so please feel free to go to the classroom."

"But..."

"I'll kindly let you know that the bell rang a while ago."

"Huh?"

Taniyama let out a strangled sound, then rushed out of the building.

They watched her go in silence.

After she left their sight, Lin muttered, "That camera took us a very long to get hold of."

Noll sighed.

He should worry about himself first.

"Leave that for later," Noll said. "Let's go to the doctor."

Noll moved, but Lin groaned again in pain.

"It's my left leg."

"This could be a problem..." Noll said and he put Lin's left arm over his shoulder.

It didn't look like Lin could recover after a day and work with him on the case. On top of that he wouldn't be able to drive the van. The doctor confirmed it; the head injury wasn't too bad, so they bandaged up his head, but Lin's leg had been sprained.

Several hours later they returned in the apartment. Lin complained of a dull headache and headed to bed.

Noll made the decision to take him off the case.

He took the keys of the van and left for the old school building.

This was a bad start. A good portion of the day that could have been used for setting up the equipment had been wasted. In addition he had lost a camera and his assistant. It didn't look like he was able to complete everything planned for today on his own.

 _What to do..._

The girl's scowl appeared in his mind.

 _Taniyama._

Noll smirked. He could make use of her.

* * *

Lin stared at the ceiling of his bedroom.

He had started the day in good spirits, and to end up like this... Well, spending the first case almost entirely in the apartment wasn't what he had in mind.

Lin looked down at his sprained leg and sighed.

So much for spring.

He had been rendered useless.

On top of that, one of the custom-made cameras had turned defect. It had taken a very long time to get hold on that type of camera. Lin had looked forward to testing them out himself. To lose one of them... It was irritating and inconvenient.

Noll told him not to think about it too much, and that he should focus on recovering as rapidly as possible.

But, at least they had an insurance.

His eyes closed. There was still a dull pain in his head from the wound.

Soon after Lin fell into a deep sleep in his bedroom.

Hours later he woke up to the sound of an opening door.

Lin opened his eyes briefly. Someone had stumbled into the house. It didn't sound like Noll.

Gene?

There was a knock on the door of his bedroom, but he gave no response.

He heard a muffled voice beyond the door.

"Lin?" the voice said. "I saw your shoes at the entrance..."

He grumbled something back.

The door opened. Gene's head popped out of the gap. His curious glance turned into a worried expression when he noticed Lin's splinted leg and the crutch against the bed.

"What happened?"

"Camera. Broke. Girl," he muttered in English. He didn't feel like talking in Japanese.

Gene made confused expression.

"What?"

Lin turned his head away in frustration. He had a rough day. Couldn't Gene just leave him alone? He wanted to sleep.

"Uh, never mind... I'll check with Noll."

He closed his eyes again. The pain slowly ebbed away.

When he woke up again, the room was already dark. He didn't know how many hours had passed since then.

Lin groaned as he sat up. He wanted to eat; he had not eaten anything since breakfast.

He shifted his leg off the bed with great difficulty, and reached his hand out to the walking stick next to his bed.

Then he slowly paced to the door.

A pleasant smell wafted through the gap when he opened it.

"Gene?"

The boy turned around. He was wearing an apron and tending to something in the kitchen.

"How are you?" Gene asked.

"Fine. All things considered," Lin said, heading into the living room. "Has Noll contacted you?

"Yeah, he told me about what happened. He should be here soon."

Lin sat on the sofa and waited for Gene to finish cooking.

Noll entered the apartment about half an hour later. They had just finished eating dinner.

"How's it going?" Gene asked.

Noll dropped the folder on the coffee table.

"I hired that girl as my assistant for the time being," he said.

Gene blinked.

"Really?"

Lin's irritation increased.

Why her?

Noll had noticed his frown, and said, "I needed help," before wandering over to the kitchen.

"There's a plate for you over there," Gene said. "Put it in the microwave."

After warming up his portion of food, Noll went over to the dinner table with his plate.

"Have you noticed anything off about the building?"

Noll shook his head.

"Nothing in particular."

"Do you need any help tomorrow?" Gene asked.

His twin sighed.

"You have a part-time job."

"Yeah, but it ends at six in the evening. I could check up on you afterwards."

"I can handle it myself."

Gene shrugged.

"I can keep you company."

"It's not necessary for the moment."

"...Or do you want to be alone with that girl that much?"

Noll glared at him, not dignifying an answer.

"It was just a joke!" Gene said. "Well, tell me right away if you need help. ...I'm just worried something is going to happen."

"I know."

* * *

"I'm hooome..."

"Welcome back~"

Kazumi was taking her own shoes off when Mai appeared behind her in the entry way.

"It's already dark," she said, putting her shoes into the rack. "Did you have a club meeting?"

Mai sighed.

"I didn't join a club... I had to help out with something."

Kazumi frowned. The girl sounded a little worn-out.

"Help out?"

Mai took her shoes off and put them in the rack as well.

"Um, well. Stuff happened, and one thing lead to another..."

Kazumi raised an eyebrow.

 _Is she's intentionally being vague...?_

A different voice called out.

"Is this about the handsome boy?"

They shifted their gazes to the open room across the entry way. The landlady had been listening in.

"Obaa-san!" Mai called out with a blush.

"Handsome boy?" Kazumi said. "It's not even a half a month and..."

Mai crossed her arms in front of her.

"No! It's not like that at all. Really!"

Kazumi frowned at her.

"Hmm, then what's it about? It doesn't help that you're being vague."

Mai let out a deep sigh.

"Oh, alright..."

They sat around the table while Mai made some food for herself.

Apparently, the 'handsome boy' was a so-called 'ghost hunter'. He had been hired by the principal to investigate the old school building. Mai had been roped into helping him after she'd injured his assistant by accident.

"Now that you mention it," Kazumi said. "A senpai once told me about a child who was found dead in the building."

Akiko nodded.

"That was about six years ago. I remember it well."

Mai sighed. "That's so sad."

"Well, at least they caught the culprit," the landlady said. "It was a scary month for all of us here. Especially since it's close to the school..."

Kazumi hummed.

"Now that I think about it, a lot of terrible things have happened at that school," she said. "Could it be a curse?"

"No way..." Akiko frowned at that suggestion.

"Well, one of my teachers committed suicide in that building," Kazumi said to her. "And don't forget the runaway truck from last year. It was terrible." She looked at Mai. "Azusa and the others can tell you all about it."

Mai made a pensive expression.

"But Shibuya-san investigated all the incidents and said the causes were all different."

Kazumi grimaced. "Huh, really?"

"See?" Akiko said, poking Kazumi's arm with a finger. "He has a good head on his shoulders."

"Stop that!" She groaned. "I just thought it would be more interesting if it was a curse..."

"Well, Na- I mean, Shibuya-san seems so sure that it's not as big as a deal. It's all just rumours, he says."

"I see, so that's why the principal called him in," Kazumi said.

Mai laughed dryly.

"It doesn't help when there's someone who says the spirits of those who died in the war are haunting the building..."

Akiko snorted.

"Seriously? There's someone like that?"

"Yeah, my class representative Kuroda. She claims to be a psychic."

Going by Mai's face, she didn't seem to take that girl seriously.

Kazumi leaned back into the chair, humming to herself.

"Now I'm curious. Who's in the right? Shibuya or Kuroda?"

* * *

 **Tokyo, April 2007: Day 3, Friday**

Gene woke up and found himself in an empty room. The bed on the other side was vacant.

He threw his blanket aside and got out of his bed.

After a quick shower, Gene found Lin in the living room with a sour expression on his face. It turned out that Noll had left early, without letting his caretaker know.

Gene didn't like bothering Lin too much whenever he was grumpy. Noll probably felt the same. It was difficult to be around him during such times; he could be unbearably silent, even more so than usual. So Gene headed out as soon as possible. He didn't bother making breakfast at home, but stopped by the convenience store for some onigiri.

Today was a Friday. The classes lasted until noon, and Gene worked in the donut cafe until six in the evening.

When Gene returned home from work, he found Lin on the sofa again.

Lin seemed to be alerted for a moment, but quickly calmed down after seeing it was Gene rather than Noll.

"Hello, how was your day?"

Only one word came out of Lin's mouth.

"Fine."

Gene sighed.

It was obvious that Lin wasn't going to make much of a conversation these days. For some reason that man hated _not_ working.

If it had been Gene, he'd be binge watching some anime or playing games on his laptop.

"Have you eaten already?"

"...No."

Gene frowned. Usually they ate around this time.

"You didn't eat _anything_ since lunch?"

"Don't worry. I ate a little in the afternoon."

"Okay. I'm going to make some food then."

Lin nodded. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Gene looked at the fridge. Luckily, there were enough ingredients to make a meal for three people.

"Is pasta okay? I'm going to shred the salmon for myself, but I can substitute with natto..."

"Yes."

"Pasta it is."

Gene began to cut up some vegetables.

While waiting for the water to boil, and preparing the salmon, his mind strayed to his brother.

Lin hadn't mentioned anything about Noll. So nothing serious had happened?

"So have you heard from Noll already?"

Lin answered immediately. "He didn't bring a phone."

"Oh."

Well, that explained it. Lin was worried about Noll.

Noll had a his own cellphone, but he rarely used it. He never needed to call Gene unless they were a long distance away. He most likely forgot to take it with him.

"Okay, I'm going to check if he's still alive."

Gene dropped the pasta into the boiling water.

 _(Knock knock! Anyone there?)_

Noll responded at once.

 _(Gene.)_

 _(Hey.)_

 _(How is Lin?)_

Gene turned around and looked at the man.

 _(Still sulking. Best not to bother him for a while.)_

 _(I see.)_

 _(But remember to bring your phone next time. I think he was really worried...)_

He could hear Noll inwardly sighing over the hot line.

 _(I'll apologize to him later...)_

Gene smiled.

 _(So what's up? Is it going well on your end?)_

 _(The principal added more rabble to the investigation.)_

So the man added more people to the case. It seemed like he didn't trust Noll that much.

 _(What kind of rabble?)_

 _(A shrine maiden.)_

 _(Sounds legit?)_

 _(She didn't seem like a young, pure maiden.)_

Gene grimaced.

 _(...I don't think you can be the judge of that.)_

 _(That's what the others said.)_

 _(Okay...)_

Noll moved on to the next person.

 _(And there was a monk from Mount Kouya.)_

 _(Wow, that's cool!)_

They didn't have time to visit Mount Kouya on their first trip to Japan, so they had to miss out on all those beautiful temples. Noll was one lucky bastard to meet a monk from that place...

 _(He had long hair.)_

 _(What.)_

Gene tried to picture a Buddhist monk with long flowing hair.

 _(...That's just wrong.)_

Noll continued.

 _(Exactly, and then the principal added another person.)_

 _(That's not all?)_

 _(A catholic exorcist from Australia.)_

That sentence did not compute.

 _(Uh, is it just me or is the principal gathering people from all kinds of religi-)_

 _(He's nineteen years old.)_

 _(Nineteen?! ...How can he be a priest already?! He's totally a fraud!)_

There was a sigh from the other end.

 _(Then there was another one...)_

 _(Noll. Please don't tell me that he flew in a gay shaman from Korea.)_

 _(...Hara Masako.)_

His jaw dropped. This conversation was wild on many levels.

 _(What? Are you having a laugh?)_

 _(No, I'm not.)_

Noll seemed dead serious.

Gene took a long moment to process this.

 _(How did the principal get a hold of her? Isn't she like very famous?)_

 _(Who knows,)_ Noll said. _(She asked me whether she met me before. I don't think we did.)_

Gene grinned.

 _(You idiot. ...She was using a pickup line on you. How exciting.)_

Noll ignored his teasing.

 _(In any case, the shrine maiden got locked into a room.)_

 _(Huh. How did that happen?)_

 _(A high school girl pulled a prank on the shrine maiden. I got a reading on that. She stuck a nail against the door.)_

He frowned.

 _(Wait. It wasn't your temporary assistant, right?)_

 _(No, it's someone else. I believe her name is Kuroda. She claims to have psychic powers. The shrine maiden was arguing with her before that.)_

 _(I see.)_

 _(There have been various incidents since then... glass breaking and a moving chair.)_

 _(Sounds like a poltergeist?)_

 _(And Hara-san fell from the second floor.)_

Gene frowned again. His brother added that in like an afterthought.

 _(Whoa. Is she okay?)_

 _(She was brought to the hospital, but it doesn't seem like anything serious.)_

 _(...Isn't it dangerous? Should I come and check it out?)_

 _(Hara-san herself said she hasn't seen any ghosts.)_

 _(Alright, but still...)_

 _(The ceiling of one room broke. I suspect there's a problem with the building itself or the ground.)_

Gene pondered over the situation when Noll didn't say anything.

 _(One more thing... Is your assistant coping? You haven't mentioned her at all.)_

Noll replied after a moment.

 _(Just fine.)_

 _(I hope you get along with her. Don't be mean because she broke a camera and injured Lin.)_

Gene prepared to add the sliced vegetables to a pan.

 _(She's noisy. That's all.)_

 _(Okay then.)_

He had the feeling that Noll wanted to say something more, but hesitated.

 _(Is there anything else on your mind?)_

It took a long moment for Noll to respond.

 _(...She called me 'Naru'.)_

 _(Naru?)_

That's what he called Noll back in the day.

 _(Naru for Narcissistic Naru-chan. She gave me that nickname based on her impressions of me.)_

Gene started laughing. Lin looked at him.

"What's so funny?"

"No, I'm talking to Noll. That girl called him Naru - Narcissistic Naru-chan!"

Lin made a glum face at the mention of the girl.

 _(Stop laughing.)_

 _(So... aren't you coming back?)_

 _(I'll stay over here and investigate the building for faults. It's a pain to commute back and forth.)_

 _(Okay. Be safe.)_

 _(Don't worry. I'm going to sleep in the van.)_

 _(I know. Good night, Noll.)_

 _(Good night.)_

After wrapping up his cooking, Gene stared at the bowl of pasta.

"Ah, that means we've got leftovers..."

"Gene?"

He threw two thirds of the batch into the pan with sauce.

"I prepared for three people... Noll is staying in the van tonight."

Lin groaned.

"That boy..."

"You know, you should have called me. I could have contacted Noll for you instead."

Lin slowly took his seat at the table.

"Yes, I probably should have."

"And you don't stay angry at that girl," Gene said. "I mean, she's in the wrong, but she probably wasn't expecting you and that camera in that old school building."

The man grunted something.

Gene sighed. So Lin was still angry... and understandably so.

Still, he quite like that girl's sense of humor... and the scarily accurate nickname for Noll.

Naru-chan.

* * *

 **Author's note**

At last, Mai has returned to the story. It's also the first time the nickname "Naru" has been mentioned.

Kazumi and Akiko are two characters from GENKI, a short story written by the original writer. I'd link you to that story, but alas, a translation is not available yet. I'll make sure to notify you when it's uploaded.

Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter!


	13. She's the One

**Chapter 12: She's the One**

 **Tokyo, April 2007: Day 4, Saturday**

The sun began to set against the horizon.

"Should I send a television crew first thing in the morning?"

"No. There's nothing there."

Kimiko closed the curtains, then glared at the girl sitting in the hospital bed.

"Even after what happened?"

Masako huffed and looked away.

"Like I said, it was an accident. The wall broke on its own. There were no spirits involved."

Kimiko sighed.

Her niece had fallen from the second floor of an old school building. It appeared to be haunted, and yet, Masako wouldn't budge from her initial observation.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

Kimiko sighed again, loudly this time.

"Fine," she said

She folded her arms and stared at the kimono that was hung over the back of a chair.

The nurses had tried their best to wash away much of the stains, but to no avail. It would be a pain to pay for the cleaning costs, but at least it wasn't one of the more expensive kimono she had given to her niece. Kimiko didn't want to save up for another kimono; she had just bought a new car to replace her old one.

She would complain a little more if it had completely messed up this week's schedule, but in terms of television appearances only one small segment had been cancelled. According to the doctors, Masako hadn't been too badly injured, so at least she would be able to make it to the usual shootings later in the week.

Kimiko had reassured the show runners that Masako would be fit to go by then.

 _Come to think of it..._

She thrust a hand into her handbag.

"By the way, Adachi-san gave me these."

Kimiko pulled a pair of tickets out and held it up in front of Masako.

The girl blinked in confusion.

"Adachi-san?"

"He managed to nab some extra tickets and told me to give these to you as a recovery present," Kimiko said. "He told me you were a fan."

Masako took the tickets and looked down with wide eyes.

"No way..."

"I didn't know you liked her."

"I told him once during a talk show..."

Kimiko hummed and sat down on a chair. She folded a leg over the other.

Adachi was one of the hosts in a minor talk show. Masako had been invited to talk about her paranormal gift a few months ago. The segment she'd appeared in was complete fluff, so Kimiko hadn't paid much attention to it at all.

"In any case, it wasn't necessary for you to stick around in a place with no ghosts," she said. "So why did you insist on staying at that school? Usually, you'd be begging to leave right away."

Masako remained silent.

Kimiko raised an eyebrow.

"Well?"

"...I was curious about something."

"About what?"

"A person."

She frowned.

"Who?"

Masako's gaze shifted to the side.

"...Shibuya-san."

The boy who ran Shibuya Psychic Research? According to Masako, he claimed to be a ghost hunter.

"What about him?"

Masako shook her head.

"It's nothing much. He merely seemed familiar to me," she said. "But he told me we never met."

"Then, perhaps he is a minor celebrity?"

"That's not it..."

Kimiko had seen the boy from a distance, when she'd dropped Masako off at the school. While very good-looking, enough to be a model or an upcoming actor, his face didn't ring any bell.

"True, I'd have remembered that kind of face as well."

Masako sighed.

"I'll give up then."

Kimiko snorted.

"Give up? On a good-looking guy like him? Ask Shibuya out on a date and perhaps you'll find out who he is."

"I'm not interested in him like that."

She shrugged.

"Well, you'd make a nice couple. It would make the headlines."

Kimiko could already imagine the tabloids.

 _Spirit medium Hara Masako is dating handsome mystery guy._

Masako frowned.

"Aunty..."

"If you hadn't turned down Mitsuru-kun..."

Mitsuru was a young and popular actor. It seemed like Masako was his type of girl; mysterious and polite.

However, her niece had turned down his invitation for a date.

"I was not interested."

"Because he wouldn't 'understand' you?" Kimiko laughed. "Naive girl."

"We've had this conversation before." Masako sighed. "It's not the real me he is seeing during the shows."

Kimiko shrugged.

"Isn't that obvious? The same goes for Mitsuru-kun. You will find out who he is once you date him. Vice versa. And what about Shibuya-san? Wouldn't he understand you perfectly? You'd be worth something in his eyes with that gift you have."

Masako crumpled the bed sheet in her hands.

"He wouldn't understand either..."

"And another medium would?" Kimiko said. "Even if Shibuya-san were a psychic, it's not guaranteed that he would understand you."

"I know, but..."

"Now that's just silly, Masako-chan," she said. "I mean, where in the world would you find another psychic of your age and fall in love with them?"

Right after she spoke those words, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Kimiko said.

When the door opened, a cold gaze fell upon her. Kimiko got up instinctively from the chair and straightened her skirt.

Sanae and Tatsuo had arrived to see their daughter.

"Kimiko," her sister said.

"Onee-san, I was just getting ready to leave."

Kimiko didn't like dealing with her sister; she always felt like walking on egg shells around Sanae. As a result, their relationship had been strained since childhood.

Her brother-in-law smiled nervously. "Then we'll wait outside."

Kimiko rolled her eyes.

"You could come in now. It's your daughter after all."

Sanae sighed.

"And she was in _your_ care."

"Like I said before, she went out by herself," she said, pointedly staring at her older sister. "Don't blame me for her own faults."

Save for the footsteps pacing in the room, everyone was silent.

Kimiko pulled the kimono from the chair and folded it. After grabbing her handbag, she turned to look at the girl in the bed.

"Well then, Masako-chan, I'll see you tomorrow about the new schedule... Masako-chan?"

Her niece was absent-mindedly gazing down at the tickets in front of her.

She muttered something.

"So it's him..."

"What?"

"I..."

Masako looked up, then blinked at her parents as if she had only noticed them just now.

"...It's nothing."

Then she gazed at Kimiko.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

 **Tokyo, April 2007: Day 5, Sunday**

Kazumi grumbled at hearing loud footsteps on the staircase and down the hallway. She put her pencil down and opened the door of her room.

"Hey, stop running around— Oh, it's you."

Mai clapped her hands together in an apologetic gesture.

"Ahhh, Kazu-chan. I'm really sorry~."

Kazumi sighed.

"Be careful next time. This house is gonna fall apart at this rate."

Mai's jaw dropped.

"Uh oh. Is it that bad? Will it collapse?"

 _Did she take that seriously?_

Kazumi almost burst into laughter, but the serious look on Mai's face stopped her from doing so.

"Nah, it's just old," she said, waving a hand up and down. "What's wrong? You seem to be in a hurry."

The girl groaned.

"It's just... that guy, he went up and left. I have to go back, and set up the microphones and tape recorders in the old school building."

Kazumi frowned.

 _Oh, that strange kid who ran a paranormal bureau. Shibuya something, was it?_

"...Why did he leave?"

Mai looked down at the floor.

"Well, he was wrong about something... and then he got mad at himself."

"Huh... What happened?"

Mai sheepishly smiled.

"I don't think you'd believe it though..."

She briefly explained the situation to Kazumi, who could only nod and listen.

 _Wait, does that mean..._

"There are ghosts there?!" Kazumi yelled.

Mai shrugged.

"We... don't know yet," she said. "So... I hope he'll come back soon."

Kazumi couldn't help but feel excited.

"Ahhh, tell me when there's more development, okay? It sounds really interesting."

"Sure, it's just... a lot of work." Mai laughed weakly.

"Really?"

"Yeah."Mai held up a plastic bag. "Anyway, I just picked up some food at the convenience store to eat here, then I'll go again."

Kazumi turned to look at the window in her room. It was going to be dark soon.

"Should I walk you there?"

"I'll be fine. Thanks."

"Alright, be careful."

* * *

Gene tapped restlessly against the counter as the last customer left.

He had tried to check up on Noll through the hotline, but his brother wouldn't let him in for some reason.

...Which meant something had happened, and Noll wasn't pleased about it.

Gene wished Noll would open up during those moments and not close up entirely to the rest of the world, including Gene himself. He could only hope that nothing serious had happened.

Fortunately, the store closed up early on Sunday. After he finished cleaning up and said his goodbye to the owner, Gene went outside and headed into the direction of his home.

"Hey Gene, how's work coming along?

Gene turned to the source of the voice and found Christopher standing in an alleyway.

 _What is he doing there?_

He smiled at his classmate.

"Hey Chris, why are you—"

His gaze moved down to the hand moving to the front of his chest. The thing between his fingers caught Gene's attention.

A cigarette. He was already halfway done.

"This?" Christopher said. "Don't tell my parents about it."

"...Of course," Gene said.

He looked to the left and right before walking into the alleyway.

"Well, it wasn't very busy today. What have you been up to?"

"I finished up my homework at the library," Christopher said. "Wanna talk for a while? Or do you need to go home right away?"

Gene thought about Noll for a moment.

 _No, he should be fine._

"...I can stick around for a minute."

Gene leaned against the wall beside him, then stared at the cigarette.

Christopher never brought cigarettes to school, so he never knew.

"You smoke often, Chris?"

"No, I tried one out for the first time just now."

"Huh? Then why?"

"I found this pack in my bookcase yesterday. I think my cousin stashed it in there," he said, handing over a green-coloured pack over to Gene.

He stared at the packaging. Golden Bat. A Japanese brand.

He shook the pack a little bit. It seemed like there were still plenty of cigarettes left.

"Your cousin?"

His friend frowned.

"Yeah, that bastard came over last summer. His parents don't know that he smokes. If my ma had found this, I'd be in big trouble," Christopher said, "But I thought I might as well give it a try since I can't buy it myself."

As they were still minors, it was difficult to get ahold of them.

"I see..." Gene said. "Are you going to keep these for yourself?"

"Nah, I'm going to throw these away," he said. "I'm not going to risk anything."

"Then can I have it?" Gene said. "It's a waste."

Christopher blinked.

"Uh, okay..."

"Thanks."

Gene opened the pack and pulled one out.

"...Need a flame?" Christopher handed him a lighter. "You can have this too."

"Yeah, that will come in handy."

After taking the lighter, Gene put the tip of the cigarette between his lips.

Suck, breathe out, breathe in.

Strangely enough it was automatism at this point. He hadn't forgotten how to do it.

The taste was a little strange, uneven.

After exhaling, Gene looked at his friend again. He was met with a shocked expression.

"You, you're a smoker?" Christopher said.

In his eyes, Gene must have come off as a well-practiced smoker.

"Not regularly. ...I haven't had a fag since I started living in Japan."

It took Christopher a moment to process this information.

"How did you start out?"

"Hmm, I was fourteen or fifteen? A friend offered me some."

Some? Probably too many.

"...That's early."

Gene smiled wryly.

"Does it surprise you?"

His classmate nodded multiple times.

"Are you mad? You're the top of our year! Anyone would think that you're a good boy who studies all day."

Gene chuckled.

The clean image he had created of himself wasn't intentional.

Sure, he was good at studying. But he didn't use to be this way all the time.

Both his parents and Noll knew that he significantly underperformed compared to what he was capable of. It wasn't until this school year that Gene put some serious effort into studying, and that was only because he wanted to show them he was sincere about staying in Japan. In terms of academic results, he was always a few steps behind his brother.

Gene didn't care. He much preferred hanging out with people and having fun in life, rather than having ambitions.

"Well, I'm not a good boy. That's only what they want to see."

Christopher smiled.

"Now I'm curious. Is there anything else I don't know?"

Gene took another drag before answering.

"Well... I can drive a car?"

His friend frowned.

Gene could almost see him doing the math inside his head.

"...How did you-"

"Back home I snuck out at night with that friend. He borrowed his older brother's car to practice driving."

"...Did your parents find out about this?"

"...No, but my brother did," Gene said after a small sigh.

"What else did you do? Alcohol?"

"Uh, yeah. The same guy gave me some beer too."

Christopher's voice became strained.

"You didn't drive after that, I hope."

Gene shook his head violently.

"No! Of course not!" he said. "I only did it because I was curious."

Christopher frowned.

"Are you sure it's just that? You were really young. You weren't pressured into doing those things, I hope?"

His jaw dropped. That was what he was worried about?

He sighed a little.

As much as he had liked Craig, even Gene had to admit to that the guy had been a bad influence on him.

"No, no. Not at all. I really liked that guy, so I kind of went along with all the things he did?"

Christopher's expression became less tense.

"Okay, if you say so..."

Gene looked down at his cigarette. Nearly all of the tobacco in the cigarette had burned up.

"Do you still talk to him?"

He sighed and flicked the ash off.

"No."

Ever since that one message he had not been in contact with Craig. He didn't feel like it would be a good idea either. Who knows what Craig is up to these days...

Christopher was right. He'd been too easily influenced by an older guy like him.

"Okay, um so. Is there anything else you would like to try?"

"Huh?"

His voice sounded uncertain, so Gene turned to look at him.

Christopher had been staring at him intently again, but he averted his eyes up at the sky.

"Only wholesome things."

Gene had to chuckle.

 _So he's worried..._

"Wholesome, huh? Hmm let me think..." Gene took this moment to take his last drag. There was something he wanted to do, but it would take a lot of courage to make the first step. And he wasn't sure what kind of reactions he would receive. "...Well, there is one thing."

"What?"

He pointed a finger at his head.

"Dye my hair. Have any tips?"

His friend grimaced.

"But you need to touch up your roots. It's annoying. I stopped after my first attempt."

Gene shrugged.

"I know, but I could dye it black after a while?"

"True," he said. "There's a good place I know. My sister gets her hair done there too."

"Thanks," Gene said, stuffing the pack of cigarettes into his bag, "but let's talk about this tomorrow,"

"Heading home now?"

"Yeah. I'm famished."

"Me too. I'll see you tomorrow then."

After parting ways with his friend, Gene headed back to his flat. He opened the door and stepped inside his home.

The shoe rack in the entranceway held several pairs of shoes. Noll's shoes were all present.

So he got home already, Gene thought.

 _Good._

He let out a drawn out yawn while taking off his shoes. The whole day of working and simultaneously worrying about his brother had exhausted him.

Gene wandered into the living room and found his brother on the sofa.

As expected, Noll didn't budge from his position or bothered to greet him. The only thing that prevented Gene from happily greeting him was the deep scowl on his face. Noll was sulking.

So that's why he wasn't letting him in the whole day. Something _did_ happen.

"What happened?"

His brother didn't reply. He merely scowled at the table.

Gene's gaze moved down. There was a wound on Noll's hand. The blood had clotted already.

"You're hurt," Gene said. "Aren't you going to treat that wound?"

"Mind your own business."

His voice was cold.

He heard Lin's voice in the kitchen.

"I offered, but he wouldn't let me."

He groaned.

"Stubborn idiot, let people help you for once."

Gene sat down next to him on the couch. He took Noll's arm and stared at the wound.

"It's just a small cut—"

Suddenly, Noll froze up.

Gene looked up to meet his eyes. Noll was staring at him with a look of disgust.

 _(You smell... Did you smoke?)_

Gene gulped and inwardly scolded himself. So it was noticeable. He shouldn't have taken up Christopher's offer.

 _(...My friend smokes.)_

Noll sighed and looked away.

He didn't look convinced; he was side-eyeing Gene with a hard expression.

At least Noll had the decency to keep the topic private, even if he was angry. Well, it would have been a different story if he was pissed with Gene, but that didn't seem to be the case right now.

 _(You're in trouble if Lin finds out.)_

Noll didn't say anymore and stared down at the notebook in his lap.

 _Shit._

Gene glanced back at Lin who stood near the kitchen counter, still with a crutch. Somehow he was able to cook despite the sprained leg.

There was no way Lin would believe his excuse.

Lin himself was a smoker, but he would not hesitate to inform their parents. Luella and Martin practically forbade the twins from smoking.

He rose up from the sofa.

"...I'm going to take a shower."

Without waiting for a response from the other two, Gene headed to his room for a new change of clothes. After his quick shower and brushing his teeth just in case, he joined Noll and Lin at the dinner table. Luckily, Lin didn't seem to have noticed anything.

Noll had bandaged up his hand, but completely refused to talk about the case. It was Lin who quietly updated him on the details instead.

Gene sighed as he seated himself in the sofa. He watched the television, but nothing could interest him.

He could only think about Noll.

His brother hated being wrong. It caused him to be low-spirited and feel anger at himself. Especially if it had dire consequences.

Gene didn't feel the same way about making mistakes. Making a mistake simply meant to keep on trying and bouncing back from the failure.

Gene gazed at the notebook on the coffee table.

 _What if I..._

He began to assess the situation.

The case was far from over, so perhaps he could lend a hand in some way.

 _I could give it a try._

After Noll headed to bed early to sleep, Gene took took the notebook and paged through it. Luckily, he was blessed with excellent memorization, much like his brother. But Gene had even better spatial abilities. He looked up the location of the school on his laptop, taking note of the notable landmarks.

After he was done, Gene turned off the television and decided to go sleep.

He sat on his bed and looked at Noll who slept on the opposite side.

The injury had looked pretty bad.

Gene stared down at his own hands and bit his lip.

 _Will it leave a scar?_

Eventual scars were inevitable, but for some reason it made him uneasy. Having identical bodies was something that linked them together, something that only the two of them shared. This was only a small injury, but... what if it escalated any further?

He sighed.

To think that he had hesitated about dying his own hair into a different color until a few hours ago...

Gene went under the covers of his bed and closed his eyes.

* * *

 **Tokyo, April 2007: Day 6, Monday**

Gene sat up and turned his head to the side. Noll was still sleeping.

He looked at the window right beside him and focused on what was beyond the wall. Thinking physical structures away opened up spaces. After all, the wall didn't exist in the astral plane. He could see an outline of the surroundings beyond the apartment building.

After the case with the dead girl, he had not seen any other significant spirits lingering around. It wasn't likely that anything would try to inhibit his body while he was off on a trip, so it was probably fine to leave for an extended period.

 _ **Time to go.**_

Gene lifted himself out of his body and flew through the window.

After observing his surroundings for a moment, he headed into the direction of the school's location.

The city was enormous.

Enormous, but beautiful.

For that reason, he loved stepping out of his body and go out into the city. He had already explored his own neighbourhood back in Cambridge, which wasn't that exciting, but Tokyo was a different beast. All those unexplored nooks and crannies had filled his mind with possibilities.

But first, he had to find the school.

Fortunately, he was able to find its location with relative ease. Memorizing the landmarks had been sufficient.

Once he arrived, he spotted a familiar van.

 _I'm at the right place._

Gene hovered above above the van and noticed a small group of people.

Some people were standing or sitting a bit further away from the van. They looked to be half-asleep or sleeping. It didn't seem like the replacement assistant was with them. The beautiful woman who was with them looked much older than a high school girl - the 'miko'. One of the men was a short blonde foreigner — definitely the 'catholic priest'. The taller, somewhat handsome man with medium-long hair appeared to be the 'monk'.

Gene smiled wryly.

Though their job titles did not seem credible, at least they didn't look like bad people.

Still, something bothered him.

The longer he stared at them, the more familiar they seemed. Had he seen them somewhere before?

Gene shook his head. He should get right on the job. There wasn't much time left.

He stared at the old building next to them and proceeded to dissect it until there was nothing left of it but the bare structure.

Hara Masako was right. It didn't contain any spirits. Gene came closer to make sure, but he found nothing.

Gene stood beside the group for a while.

What were they doing there? They could have gone home instead.

He took another look at them, and noticed that the monk's half lidded eyes were locked on the van.

Gene returned to the vehicle. The doors were slightly open.

Could it be?

He peeked into the van and found someone sleeping in the back.

A girl.

 _Is it her?_

Gene paused to look at the girl.

Her astral head lolled around outside her physical body, as if trying to escape from it, but it never did.

This girl appeared to be capable of leaving her body, but she seemed to need a little push to do it.

 _Should I help her?_

Before he could attempt to do so, the girl got up from her body. Her head lifted for a moment, but then settled down again.

He frowned.

If he recalled correctly, she was at least capable of taking a walk outside her body, though not in a lucid state of mind.

But why did she up like this? Had something happened to her?

Without much thought, Gene moved forward and put a hand on her forehead. Something flowed through it. A feeling. A very familiar feeling. It really was this girl.

"Who is it..."

Her voice was weak.

The girl opened her eyes slowly and seemed to become aware of him.

Gene blinked.

"...Naru?"

 _Ah, Noll's nickname._

Gene was about to correct her out of habit, but she didn't seem to be in a state to handle further confusion. And, what if she mentioned it to Noll? So he would play this part for now.

"It's better not to move," he said.

"But—"

Gene smiled.

A look of surprise crossed her face.

"...It would be great if you'd always smile like that."

He inclined his head. It didn't surprise him that she would think of Noll that way.

She asked, "...Is anyone nearby?"

The others? He couldn't exactly call for the others to come if she asked.

"No," Gene said with a soft voice.

"...Really," the girl said. "...You know, it's a shame. but it does seem to be a poltergeist..."

"I see."

Gene pondered.

 _A poltergeist, huh. I wonder how she figured it out..._

"You shouldn't mind it so much."

So Noll was visibly upset when he left?

Gene shook his head. "That doesn't matter anymore. You should sleep for a while."

"Okay..." She said, making another look of confusion. "...Thank you."

Gene shook his head once again with a dumb smile on his face.

Pretending to be Noll was probably a bad idea in the long run, but given the situation... It was better to gain her trust quickly by using Noll's name, and let her think of it as a dream rather than a reality in the astral plane.

She closed her eyes again.

Gene watched her.

Her face was familiar for some reason, but not only that...

He looked down at his hand.

Something had flowed through it. It had been very familiar feeling. A deep sadness and loneliness.

Why?

The girl groaned and began to regain conscious.

 _Time to go._

Gene closed his eyes and travelled back to his body. It was faster this way since his spirit had a natural connection to his body. He idly wondered if he could find the girl again by connecting to those familiar feelings next time. There was something between them, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

However, Gene fell into a deep sleep as he thought about those things.

It was already morning when his eyes opened again.

He groaned and rolled over to the other side of the bed.

He found his brother changing into black trousers and a dark pullover.

"Ugh."

Noll turned around at the grunt.

"You're awake already?"

"...What time is it?"

"Six."

Gene groaned.

He should get up after an hour. After all, it was Monday and he had to go to school.

"Will you be alright?"

"I've already found out what it is," Noll said. "A human is responsible for the poltergeists."

"Okay."

 _Looks like I don't have to tell him what I saw last night._

Gene turned in his bed and continued to sleep.

After getting up, he found Lin sitting in the living room with his laptop.

"Morning Lin."

"Good morning. Noll has already left."

"Yeah, I saw."

Gene trudged to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

It had some eggs, so he decided to make over easy eggs over bread. Just the way he liked it.

"What's the plan?"

"He's going to set up an autosuggestion."

Lin seemed to be in relatively good spirits.

Good.

Gene didn't know whether he would last another day with an overly grumpy Lin.

"...Right," Gene said. "How's your leg?"

"There's some recovery, so I might be able to drive the van back tomorrow."

On his way to school, Gene couldn't help but think about the girl.

He wanted to ask for her name, but Noll would find it suspicious if he did so at this stage.

According to Noll's visions, a girl would come to work in the office, and it had to be her. But at the moment, Noll didn't seem to be aware of her latent ability to exit her body, so Gene wondered why Noll would hire her.

The girl remained in the back on his mind as Monday passed by slowly without much fanfare.

Noll returned late in the evening, after having set up the experiment with the catholic priest and the girl, but he was in a much better mood than the day before.

* * *

 **Tokyo, April 2007: Day 7, Tuesday**

On Tuesday morning, Lin claimed that his leg had recovered sufficiently enough in order to drive the van. Somehow Gene doubted it and told them to ask someone for help instead.

However, his advice would be ignored; Noll helped Lin to the train station early in the morning, and a few hours later, Noll relayed a quick message to Gene, saying they had solved the case without much trouble.

In the afternoon, Noll passed another message through the hotline.

The principal had called the office and told Noll that the old school building had collapsed. It had occurred just a few hours after they had solved the case.

Noll had expected the building to deteriorate, but not at such a rapid pace.

To Gene's disappointment, there was still no mention of the girl. He wanted to ask about her if she came up in their conversation, but it seemed like things had ended just like that.

Gene couldn't help but have mixed feelings about this. Even so, they had no reason to reach out to her in the first place.

He was already at home when the other two returned early from the office.

Noll sat down in the living room with a book, and once again, Lin was preparing food in the kitchen.

Gene had offered to help him, but he refused as usual.

So he sat down in front of the television and flipped channels.

He briefly glanced at Noll. There was a visible frown on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"It doesn't seem like nothing."

Noll put his book down and took his cup of tea from the table.

"I asked the principal about the girl."

Gene focused his eyes on him.

"...Her name is Taniyama Mai."

Noll turned toward him with a steady gaze.

"And she's an orphan."

Like us.

"Ah..."

So that's why...

The sadness, the loneliness... Gene understood now. It all made sense.

 _(Is Mai the one?)_ He asked through the hotline. _(Haruka's friend.)_

 _(She's the one.)_

Gene hesitated asking the next question.

 _(...Then what about the others on the case. Did they seem familiar to you too?)_

Noll paused the cup in front of his lips.

 _(Why do you ask?)_

 _(A gut feeling.)_

 _(...Yes.)_

Noll didn't say any more.

So these people... Will they work together with Noll on the cases? And... were they possibly the ones in the room where Noll would have died? And Mai, was she there too?

But first, Mai had to be hired. Would Noll do it? Even after she injured Lin and broke a camera?

Gene stared at his brother.

"Well... What will you do about Mai?"

A faint smile crossed his brother's lips.

"Hire her, of course."

* * *

 **Tokyo, April 2007: Day 10, Friday**

Noll sat on the couch at the center of the main room.

There was a book in his hand, but he found it difficult to concentrate on his reading.

A lot had happened during the case at the old school building. Not only in terms of the case itself, but also the people who had crossed his path.

Mai, John, Ayako, Masako and Takigawa.

Noll knew he would encounter them again. Some of them were people who got along with the focus person in Haruka's precognitive visions — now confirmed to be Mai.

And she was an orphan too.

If there was one thing he knew about being an orphan is that it was a particularly bad experience — whether it was bereaved of parents or abandoned by them, he knew what it was like.

That's why he had called her school and asked if she would be interested in a part-time job, and unsurprisingly, Mai had said yes. She would come over tomorrow.

However, since Noll and Gene had each other when they were orphaned, he couldn't fully comprehend how it must have been for Mai who was truly all alone. He wondered how it would have been if Gene was placed in that situation if Noll hadn't survived their childhood home. How would Gene have coped alone?

Noll shook his head.

For some reason he had unconsciously compared Mai and Gene.

It couldn't be helped. Those two were quite similar. And, they'd probably get along well with each other.

Noll reached out to grab the cup of tea from the coffee table.

In the end he understood the reasons for hiring Mai.

At first, Noll didn't think it was truly necessary to take a part-timer. But, if it helped her situation, and rid Lin and him of trivial tasks, then why not? Two in one go.

He let out a sigh and stared at the cup in his hand.

The tea was too bitter for his taste.

Rapid knocks on the door alerted him of a new presence.

Noll looked up to see the door sway open.

The visitor greeted him with a cheerful voice.

"Hello!"

A mop of brown hair poked out of the gap, a boy of the same height, age, stature and face came through the door.

"Tadaa! Thought I'd surprise you!"

Noll found himself unable to reply. His gaze was fixed on the brown hair. It had finally happened without a single warning.

They were no longer identical.

His twin brother proudly ran a hand through his freshly dyed hair.

Noll wasn't able to hide his shock and stared.

"...What's with your face?" Gene asked, raising an eyebrow, then widening his eyes. "Whoa! Watch out."

Noll glanced down at the nearly overflowing cup and steadied it, almost cursing his brother for nearly causing a mess.

"Gene," he said, putting the cup back on the table.

"What?"

Noll looked up again and spoke with as much disdain as possible.

"You look awful."

His brother's face fell.

"...What! This is the first time you tell me that I'm not looking great."

"No, _I_ look great. _You_ look terrible."

Gene rolled his eyes.

"Noll. I only dyed my hair. It's nothing special. People do it all the time."

He shrugged.

"Thank you for confirming that it doesn't suit us at all."

"Whatever you say~"

"Dye it black again," Noll said.

It almost pained him to think he would be seeing this sight for quite a while.

"Yes, I _know_ that's your favorite color right now, but I'm not you," Gene said, walking over to him. "So what's up? Had any new requests?"

"No." He closed his book with a sigh. "Why did you come to the office again?"

Gene leaned against the sofa.

"I happened to be in the neighbourhood... Is it really that much of a problem?" he said. "I mean, I'm fine with telepathy, but sometimes it's easier to drop by and meet face-to-face."

"We can talk at home."

"But, we hardly meet these days."

Noll let out a sigh.

It was true, he had not spoken to Gene very often for about a few weeks. Both of them stayed late at work or school, only coming home to eat or to sleep. Noll had his investigation case, while Gene had been leading study group sessions with his classmates. Apparently, they had organized some, because Gene turned out to be a very good tutor. On top of that his social life seemed to be flourishing.

He got up from the couch, briefly glancing at the data room.

Lin didn't need to hear about this.

"Let's take it to my room," Noll said, walking into his office.

"Alright."

Gene followed and closed the door behind him.

"So, should we meet elsewhere?"

Noll sat down in his chair.

"Where do you suggest we meet?"

"At the cafe downstairs?"

Noll frowned.

"I'd rather not be seen there with you."

Gene tilted his head.

"Okay? Then why don't you suggest a place?"

Noll leaned his elbows on the table and supported his chin with fist.

It had to be a place where they couldn't be seen by the general public or by people who would visit the office.

At this point he found no reason to not introduce Mai to his brother as a potential associate. In the last couple of days he often found himself thinking of letting Gene on the cases — foregoing Haruka's advice. Noll found it hard to replace him by someone else with a lesser ability, and he also wasn't sure to what extent he could trust Masako's ability to see ghosts.

A perfect medium like Gene was hard to come by — his brother always gave him the results he could trust.

Yet, at the same time Noll hated how dependent he had become on his twin brother. On top of that, Gene had become very pushy over wanting to see his psychometric visions. Noll didn't want it. There was no need for him to suffer through things like that.

 _How frustrating._

Noll looked at his brother, who no longer stood in front of him.

Gene's attention had wandered to the bookcases.

 _A place, where no one can see us._

Noll opened the drawer of his desk and took out a key.

"The rooftop," he said.

Gene turned with a look of surprise.

"The rooftop? Isn't that off limits for visitors?"

"Apparently not. Some people regularly go up there for some fresh air." He threw the key at Gene, who caught it. "You can have this. Just let me know if you head up to the roof. I'll meet you there."

Gene whistled.

"Not bad! It might have some interesting scenery."

"Don't expect too much. There are a lot of crows up there," Noll said with smirk.

He had never been on the roof, but the previous owner of the keys had seen quite a lot of that nuisance.

"Well, I hope they won't mind some company — Huh?" Gene blinked and looked over at the door. "Lin is leaving?"

They could hear footsteps, and the sound of a crutch. Lin seemed to be heading to the exit.

Noll shook his head. "No, someone came in."

A muffled female voice could be heard.

"A visitor?" Gene said.

Lin returned and knocked on the door before opening it.

His head poked through the gap.

"We have a visitor," he said, staring at Noll and Gene. "It's Hara-san."

The twin brothers exchanged glances.

For some reason, Noll had a bad feeling about this.

 _(Stay here,)_ he ordered.

His brother protested through the line.

 _(Huh? Why? I want to meet her!)_

He glared. Gene took the hint and backed away.

Then Noll returned to the main room, closing the door.

Masako stood in front of the entrance, wearing a kimono as usual.

Her eyes lit up at his presence.

"Shibuya-san, it's a pleasure to meet you again."

"Likewise," he said with a thin smile. "It seems like you've recovered well."

Masako smiled. "Thank you, and yes I did."

"Please sit down."

They sat down on the sofas opposite each other. Lin watched over them behind Noll.

"Why do I owe this visit from you, Hara-san?"

She narrowed her eyes.

"Well."

Masako paused for a moment, glancing from Noll to Lin and back again.

"I think I know who you are."

For a few seconds, no sound other than outside the building filled the room.

Noll stared at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Your name is not Shibuya Kazuya."

 _There it was._

He folded his arms.

"If I am not Shibuya Kazuya as you just claimed. Who am I?"

She looked straight at him.

"Dr. Oliver Davis."

There was no hesitation in her voice.

Noll stared hard at her. It was just like Haruka predicted.

Masako started to explain.

"I was invited to ASPR about a year ago. They showed me that video of your PK demonstration... It left a very deep impression on me," Masako said. "...And, it's not often that I see a boy of around my age capable of such a feat."

Noll let out a sigh.

"I see."

That was all he could say to her.

He wished he had not agreed to a recording of that experiment. Or at the very least he shouldn't have shown his face clearly.

"I have a question. Why do you work under an alias?" Masako asked.

Noll gazed at her face again.

"I have my own reasons."

She frowned at his answer.

"And why have you come to Japan?"

"It's none of your concern," he said in a monotonous voice.

Masako tilted her head.

"Is that so?"

"I'm not obliged to answer any of your questions," he replied. "It would make me happy if you could keep that information to yourself."

Masako only blinked at his response.

"Hara-san?"

She put a sleeve in front of her mouth. Her eyes smiled.

"Very well. Then I'll promise to keep it secret for you."

"Promise?"

"Yes, it's a promise."

Masako seemed to enjoy the notion of that, but Noll could only shift uneasily in his seat. Behind him, Lin coughed lightly.

The atmosphere had grown tense, but Masako didn't seem to pick on their discomfort. She stood up with a smile, taking her purse with her.

"In any case, I'll bid you farewell for now... But," she said, "why don't we meet up again?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Meet up? Why?"

"Well, I'd love to talk to you in private."

 _What?_

"I'd rather not..."

Masako didn't listen to his protest.

"As a start, will you accompany me tomorrow night, Shibuya-san?"

Noll widened his eyes.

"Tomorrow?"

"I bought two tickets to a movie."

Noll's heartbeat sped up for a few seconds.

 _What's the meaning of this...? What would happen if he said no?_

He looked down at the floor.

Visions of unanswered letters, entire boxes full of them, unanswered, flashed through his mind.

"Shibuya-san?"

Her voice felt heavy on him. Gene was knocking against the door of the hot line.

 _(Not now, not now.)_

He didn't want to, but, but—

But.

Finally, he let out a deep sigh.

"I'll go," Noll said, looking at her again. "I'll accompany you."

Once again, she smiled behind her sleeve.

"I am very glad to hear that."

He nodded slowly.

"Well then, I will see you tomorrow."

Masako walked back to the entrance, and bowed lightly before she left through the door.

* * *

 **Author's note**

Hey! I'm back. 😅

First of all, Masako's parents and aunt Kimiko were taken from the short story "Trajectory of a Satellite" (it's on livejournal), which I highly recommend for further insight into Masako's family background. It will also be helpful to read it before you continue to the next chapter of this fic!

Secondly, to explain my absence... I wanted to focus on some other things, so I took a break from Ghost Hunt. However, it took a bit longer to come back, because I also got roped into becoming a translator for one of the Japanese participants in Produce 48. Unfortunately, I am the only active translator for that fandom, so it got hectic to the point that I wasn't even able to join Nanowrimo 2018. But now that it's settled down a bit, I can finally return my focus to Crows. 😅 At last.


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